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THE- LIFE 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN/ 

F~ r2<xnk.lt  a 

WRITTEN   BY   HIMSELF. 


NOW   FIRST   EDITED   FROM   ORIGINAL   MANUSCRIPTS 

AND   FROM   HIS   PRINTED   CORRESPONDENCE 

AND   OTHER   WRITINGS, 


BY 

JOHN  BIGELOW. 

Plurimae  consentiunt  gentes  populi  primarium  fuisse  virum." 

Cicero  de  Senectute  {Catonis),  g  61 

FOURTH  EDITION,  REVISED  AND   CORRECTED. 

ILLUSTRATED. 


VOL.    I, 
PHILADELPHIA! 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY. 

LONDON:    5    HENRIETTA   ST.,  COVENT  GARDEN. 
I9O2. 


%  \° 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by 

JOHN   BIGELOW, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 
Copyright,  1893,  by  John  Bigelow. 
Copyright,  1898,  by  John  Bigelow. 
Copyright.  1902,  by  John  Bigelow. 


PMNTED   BY  J.    B.    LlPPINCOTT  COMPANY,    PHILADELPHIA. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 


As  each  revolving  season  brings  its  fresh  crop  of 
leaves,  flowers,  and  fruits,  so  every  new  year  seems 
to  have  something  fresh  to  tell  us  of  the  subject  of 
this  memoir.  Like  his  eminent  contemporary  and 
admirer,  Voltaire,  Franklin's  fountain  of  pieces  inedites 
seems  inexhaustible.  Scarcely  a  month  passes  that 
does  not  make  its  contribution  to  the  fruitage  of  his 
indefatigable  pen. 

It  is  now  twenty-three  years  since  the  first  edition 
of  this  memoir  was  given  to  the  world.  Time  and 
the  public  taste  have  vindicated  the  artistic  principle 
upon  which  it  was  constructed  of  letting  Franklin 
tell  his  story,  and  his  whole  story,  in  his  own  way. 

No  great  and  enduring  fame  has  ever  been  less 
indebted  to  contemporary  appreciation  than  Frank- 
lin's. We  learn  little  more  of  what  was  thought  of 
him  from  his  own  generation  than  we  do  of  Shake- 
speare and  of  Moliere  from  theirs.  The  portion 
of   his    life   in    which    he   is   commonly   thought   to 

333476  5 


$  a:    ■  ri<Er4££.-T0    THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 

have  placed  the  world  under  the  most  considerable 
obligations  was  spent  abroad  in  diplomacy,  a  call- 
ing in  which  a  lasting  fame  has  rarely  if  ever  been 
achieved.  That  Franklin  proved  an  exception  was 
due  less  to  the  extraordinary  value  of  his  service  to 
the  public  than  to  the  admirable,  the  incomparable 
history  of  it  revealed  in  his  voluminous  correspond- 
ence. The  charm  of  that  correspondence  neither 
the  lapse  of  time  nor  the  mutability  of  human  society 
has  in  the  least  impaired.  Yet,  strangely  enough, 
one  looks  in  vain  to  the  press  or  the  forum  of  his 
day  for  any  premonition  of  such  a  fame  as  was  in 
store  for  him.  What  is  no  less  strange,  in  all  his 
long  and  varied  career  as  agent  for  the  colonies,  as 
commissioner,  as  minister  plenipotentiary,  as  governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  as  member  of  the  convention  that 
framed  the  first  federal  Constitution,  Franklin  never 
wrote  a  line  for  publication  except  anonymously,  and 
of  that  very  little.  All  the  world's  interest  in  Franklin 
must  be  attributed  mainly  to  writings  which  he  never 
gave  to  the  public,  and  which  for  the  most  part  were 
never  in  print  until  many  years  after  his  death.  Had 
his  correspondence  been  lost  or  destroyed,  his  name 
might  never  have  reappeared  in  any  encyclopaedia 
of  our  day,  if  indeed  in  any  preceding  one.  Let  any 
one  who  doubts  this  run  his  eyes  over  any  of  the 
biographies  of  Franklin,— and  they  are  without  num- 
ber and  all  full  of  interest; — he  will   then  see  how 


PREFACE    TO    THE   FOURTH  EDITION.  5  b 

entirely  they  owe  that  interest  to  his  posthumous 
correspondence,  and  what  a  lifeless  skeleton  the  best 
of  them  would  be  if  deprived  of  what  Franklin  wrote 
about  himself  and  his  work  but  never  published. 
There  would  be  scarcely  enough  left  for  a  newspaper 
obituary.  The  superior  might  of  the  pen  over  the 
sword  has  probably  never  received  a  more  impressive; 
illustration.  It  is,  therefore,  I  trust,  with  a  not  un- 
becoming confidence  that  my  publishers  assume  the 
artistic  principle  upon  which  this  memoir  is  con- 
structed to  have  been  the  correct  one :  that  as  Frank- 
lin was  not  only  his  own  but  practically  his  only 
biographer,  his  own  account  of  himself  is  the  one  in 
which  the  world  must  always  feel  most  interest,  "and 
that,  whatever  other  biographies  have  been  or  may  be 
written,  there  must  always  be  a  demand  for  the  Life 
of  Franklin  as  written  by  himself  so  long  as  the  Eng- 
lish continues  to  be  a  living  tongue.  It  is  at  their 
behest,  therefore,  that  I  have  undertaken  to  enrich 
a  new  edition  of  this  memoir,  now  about  to  be  put 
to  press,  with  whatever  fresh  material  of  biographical 
interest  the  last  decade  has  disclosed,  in  the  hope  of 
leaving  it  as  perfect  and  complete  an  expression  of 
Franklin's  own  estimate  of  himself,  of  his  principles, 
and  of  his  motives  of  action  as  it  is  now  possible  to 
supply. 

This  is  the  last  time  that  I  can  reasonably  expect 
to  feed  and  trim  this   memorial  lamp,  but  I  do  not 


6  PREFACE    TO    THE   FOURTH  EDITION. 

fear  that  others  will  not  be  found  to  do  all  that  in 
the  unpretending  function  of  editorship  need  or  can 
be  done  to  keep  alive  and  fresh  from  generation  to 
generation  the  memory  of  one  whose  fame  is  dowered 
with  securities  for  greater  longevity  than  can  yet  be 
confidently  predicted  for  any  other  American,  and  of 
whom  may  with  equal  propriety  be  said  what  Bryant 
so  justly  said  of  Washington, — 

"  *  *  years  succeeding  years  shall  give 
Increase  of  honors  to  his  name." 

The  Squirrels,  May,  1898. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


In  responding  to  the  call  of  my  publishers  for  a  new 
edition  of  this  work,  I  esteem  myself  fortunate  in  being 
able  to  avail  myself  of  the  very  considerable  and  important 
increment  which  has  been  made  to  our  stock  of  Franklinian 
literature  since  the  appearance  of  the  previous  editions. 
Of  these  recent  acquisitions,  the  Stevens  collection,  pur- 
chased for  the  State  Department  in  1881,  ranks  first  in 
importance.  It  embraced  all  the  papers  left  by  Franklin 
in  his  will  to  his  grandson,  William  Temple  Franklin, 
which,  because  of  their  number  and  bulk,  could  not  profit- 
ably be  used  by  the  latter  in  his  edition  of  his  grand- 
father's works,  published  in  181 7. 

The  letters  of  Franklin  to  his  early  and  faithful  friend, 
William  Strahan,  the  parliamentary  printers  of  those  days, 
have  recently  come  into  the  market,  and  have  contributed 
much  new  and  interesting  information  about  Franklin's 
business  career  before  he  became  engrossed  with  public 
affairs.  These  letters  help  much  to  explain  his  early,  ex- 
traordinary, and  enduring  influence  with  his  countrymen 

From  these  and  other  less  copious  sources  I  have  been 
able  to  glean  between  four  and  five  hundred  letters  and 
documents,  from  which  I  have  endeavored  to  extract  every- 

7 


n  a  PREFACE    TO    THE   THIRD   EDITION. 

thing  of  a  strictly  biographical  nature  with  which  to  enrich 
this  edition.  Among  them  are  some,  the  peculiar  interest 
of  which  will  be  manifest  from  their  titles.    Of  such  are, — 

"  Preparatory  notes  and  hints  for  writing  a  paper  con- 
cerning what  is  called  catching  cold." 

"Notes  on  the  condition  of  his  health  from  1778  to 
1780." 

"  Personal  expense  accounts  with  Congress  during  the 
frst  two  years  of  his  official  residence  in  Paris." 

"A  fragment  of  his  diary  for  1780." 

"An  elaborate  account  of  the  first  successful  balloon  ex- 
periment ever  made,  addressed  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  then 
president  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London." 

A  letter  on  "The  Slave  Trade,"  written  only  twenty- 
four  days  before  his  death,  in  which  Franklin  gives  a  speech 
purporting  to  have  been  delivered  in  the  Divan  of  Algiers 
in  1687,  in  opposition  to  the  petition  of  a  sect  called 
Erika,  for  the  abolition  of  Piracy  and  Slavery.  This  pre- 
tended speech  was  a  parody  on  one  which  had  been  then 
recently  delivered  by  a  Mr.  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  whose 
arguments  in  favor  of  negro  slavery  were  here  urged  with 
equal  force  to  justify  the  enslaving  and  plundering  of 
Europeans. 

None  of  these  papers  save  the  last,  which  was  printed 
anonymously  in  the  Federal  Gazette  of  March  25,  1790, 
appear  to  have  ever  been  consulted  by  any  previous  biog- 
rapher of  Franklin. 

In  this  edition  will  also  be  found  several  interesting  illus- 
trations, which  have  never  appeared  in  any  previous  biog- 
raphy of  Franklin. 

Among  them  is  a  portrait  of  Franklin,  engraved  from  the 
Duplessis  portrait  of  1778  ;  a  sketch,  made  by  Victor  Hugo, 


PREFACE    TO   THE    THIRD   EDITION. 


7b 


of  the  house  of  M.  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont,  at  Passy,  which 
Franklin  occupied,  rent  free,  during  his  entire  sojourn  in 
France,  accompanied  by  the  copy  of  an  autograph  letter 
of  Victor  Hugo,  setting  forth  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  sketch  came  to  be  made ;  a  portrait  of  M.  de 
Chaumont,  and  a  view  of  the  Chateau  de  Chaumont,  his 
country  home,  where  the  clay  was  found  from  which  the 
first  and  now  rare  and  famous  medallion  of  Franklin  was 
made,  and  which  contributed  to  make  his  face  as  famous  as 
the  moon  in  Paris,  "So  that,"  as  he  wrote  in  a  letter  to 
his  daughter,  "  he  durst  not  do  anything  that  would  oblige 
him  to  run  away,  as  his  phiz  would  discover  him  wherever 
he  should  venture  to  show  it." 

Besides  a  careful  revision  of  these  pages,  I  have  en- 
deavored faithfully  to  profit  by  the  criticisms  of  the  press 
and  by  the  intelligent  suggestions  of  private  correspond- 
ents, in  searching  out  and  correcting  every  error  which 
escaped  my  attention  in  previous  editions. 

I  trust  that  I  have  succeeded  in  making  the  story  of  our 
most  illustrious  countryman  less  unworthy  of  the  favor  with 
which  it  has  been  received  hitherto  by  the  public. 

John  Bigf.low. 

Highland  Falls  on  the  Hudson, 
June  30,  1892. 


PREFACE. 


The  memoirs  of  his  own  life,  which  Dr.  Franklin 
began  but  never  finished,  terminated  with  his  arrival 
in  England,  in  1757,  as  agent  of  the  Colony  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  then  fifty-one  years  of  age,  and  just 
entering  upon  that  part  of  his  public  career  in  which 
his  marvellous  talents  appear  to  the  greatest  advantage. 
From  this  time  until  1785  he  resided  abroad,  as  agent 
of  the  colonies  or  as  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States ;  his  two  brief  visits  to  his  native  land, 
in  1762  and  in  1775,  scarcely  constituting~an  interrup- 
tion of  his  protracted  foreign  service. 

During  this  long  period  of  twenty-eight  years,  he 
was,  of  course,  in  constant  correspondence,  officially, 
with  the  governments  he  represented,  and  unofficially 
with  prominent  public  men,  and  with  his  family  and 
friends,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

During  the  five  years  that  elapsed  between  his  final 
return  from  Europe,  in  1785,  and  his  death,  he  naturally 
maintained  an  active  correspondence  with  his  numerous 

9 


10  PREFACE. 

friends  in  the  Old  World,  among  whom  he  had  spent 
the  most  useful  and  perhaps  the  happiest  years  of  his 
life. 

To  this  protracted  expatriation  we  owe  the  fact  that 
there  is  scarcely  an  important  incident  of  Franklin's 
life  which  is  not  described  by  himself  in  his  memoirs, 
or  in  his  correspondence;  and  it  is  to  this  vast  treasury 
of  sterling  English,  which  seems  to  have  been  almost 
miraculously  preserved  from  incalculable  perils  by  sea 
and  by  land,  that  the  legion  of  his  biographers  have 
been  indebted  for  whatever  has  most  contributed  to 
render  their  works  attractive. 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  other  eminent  man  has  left 
so  complete  a  record  of  his  own  life.  The  part  of  it 
which,  from  the  nature  of  things,  could  not  be  pre- 
served in  correspondence — his  youth  and  early  man- 
hood; his  years  of  discipline  and  preparation — has 
been  made  as  familiar  as  household  words  to  at  least 
three  generations,  in  those  imperishable  pages  which, 
in  the  full  maturity  of  his  faculties  and  experience,  he 
prepared  at  the  special  instance  of  his  friends  Le 
Veillard,  Rochefoucault,  and  Vaughan.  From  the 
period  when  that  fragment  closes  until  his  death,  we 
have  a  continuous,  I  might  almost  say  daily  record 
of  his  life,  his  labors,  his  anxieties,  and  his  triumphs, 
from  his  own  pen,  and  written  when  all  the  incidents 
and  emotions  they  awakened  were  most  fresh  and  dis- 
tinct in  his  mind. 


PREFACE. 


I  I 


If  I  may  judge  by  the  unexampled  popularity  and 
influence  of  his  memoirs  of  the  early  part  of  his  life, 
I  am  not  mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  world  will 
be  more  interested  in  reading  his  own  account  of 
those  more  eventful  years  which  followed,  than  in 
what  any  other  person  has  said  or  can  say  about  them. 
However  we  may  prize  the  judgments  of  discrimi- 
nating biographers  of  Franklin,  their  interest  must 
always  be  subordinate  to  that  which  we  feel  in  his 
own;  and  the  pleasure,  be  it  never  so  great,  which  we 
experience  in  reading  other  versions  of  the  incidents 
of  his  varied  and  picturesque  career  only  increases 
our  curiosity  to  read  the  account  which  he  gave  of 
them  at  the  time,  to  his  government  and  friends,  in 
his  own  pure,  limpid,  and  sparkling  English. 

It  is  under  the  impulse  of  such  convictions  that  the 
work  which  is  now  submitted  to  the  public  has  been 
prepared.  I  have  aimed  to  condense  Franklin's  own 
memorials  of  his  entire  life,  hitherto  scattered  through 
many  bulky  volumes  and  yet  more  bulky  manuscript 
collections,  into  a  single  compact  work,  and  to  give 
them  the  convenient  order  and  attractiveness  of  a  con- 
tinuous narrative.  To  this  end  I  have  taken  from  his 
writings  and  correspondence  whatever  was  autobio- 
graphical, and  presented  it  in  a  strictly  chronological 
order.  I  have  not  attempted  to  give  all  his  letters,  nor 
more  of  any  letter  or  other  document  than  furthered 
the  central  and  controlling  purpose  of  the  work, — tc 


12  PREFACE. 

tell  the  Franklin  story  fully  and  without  tediousness 
or  vain  repetitions. 

Like  all  the  modern  biographers  of  Franklin,  I 
have  depended  mainly  upon  the  two  collections  of 
his  writings  and  correspondence,  compiled  and  edited, 
one  by  Jared  Sparks,  1836- 1840,  and  the  other  by 
John  Bigelow,  1 887-1 889.  I  was  fortunate  enough,  a 
few  years  since,  to  obtain  some  valuable  details  of 
his  later  days,  in  a  collection  of  his  letters  addressed 
to  M.  le  Veillard,  an  account  of  which,  and  of  the 
original  manuscript  from  which  the  autobiography, 
down  to  1757,  was  printed,*  will  be  found  in  the  his- 
tory which  immediately  follows  of  the  u  fortunes  and 
misfortunes"  of  that  unique  autograph. 

A  nation  has  no  possessions  so  valuable  as  its  great 
men,  living  or  dead ;  for  they  inspire  it  with  noble  im- 
pulses to  noble  achievements.  When  such  possessions 
cease  to  be  estimated  by  us  at  their  proper  value,  or 
to  awaken  the  enthusiasm  of  the  young  and  the  pride 
of  the  mature  of  a  nation,  we  may  be  sure  that  we 
are  yielding  to  a'  lower  grade  of  impulses  and  are  de- 
clining in  power  and  influence.  The  cock  in  the  fable 
preferred  the  grain  of  corn  to  the  guinea,  because  he 
was  a  cock,  and  did  not  know  that  with  the  guinea  he 


*  This  manuscript  was  first  printed  in  1868.  See  "  Autobiography 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  edited  from  his  Manuscript,  with  Notes  and  an 
Introduction,  by  John  Bigelow."  Philadelphia:  J.  B.  Lippincott  & 
Co.,  1868. 


PREFACE.  13 

could  have  bought  a  year's  supply  of  corn.  When  we 
become  indifferent  to  the  fame  and  the  teachings  of 
those  who  have  headed  the  procession  of  civilizing 
influences  in  their  day,  we  commit  the  folly  of  the 
cock,  without  the  cock's  excuse.  It  was  when  the 
trophies  of  Miltiades  kept  Themistocles  from  sleeping 
that  Greece  was  in  her  glory. 

The  Squirrels,  May  1,  1898. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 


PAGH 

Preface 5-13 

Historical  Sketch  of  the  Fortunes  and  Misfortunes  of  the  Autograph 
MS.  of  Franklin's  Memoirs  of  his  Own  Life        .  19-76 


PART   I. 


Franklin's  Outline  of  the  Topics  of  his  Autobiography     .         .        .    77-80 
Autobiography  of  Franklin  from  his  Birth  to  his  Arrival  in  England  as 
Agent  of  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania  (1706-1757)     .         .        .     81-372 


PART   II. 


Continuation  of  the  Autobiography  from  Franklin's  Ar- 
rival in  England  as  Agent  of  the  Colony  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  June,  1757,  until  the  Close  of  his  Mission  there 
and  Return  to  Philadelphia,  in  1775. 

CHAPTER  1. 
Pope's  Works — Thomson's  "Seasons" — Disciplines  James  Read — 
Enters  his  Son  William  a  Student  of  Law  in  London — Settles  two 
of  his  Nephews  in  Business — Protracted  Illness  in  London — Re- 
moval of  Governor  Denny — Countermining  the  Proprietors — His- 
torical Review,  etc.,  of  Pennsylvania — Tour  through  England  and 
Scotland — Cambridge  University — Visits  the  Home  of  his  Ances- 
tors— Counsels  the  Annexation  of  Canada  to  the  British  Empire — 

15 


x6  CONTENTS   OF   VOLUME  I. 

PAGE 

Portrait  of  William  Penn— The  "  Art  of  Virtue"— Karnes's  "  Ele- 
ments of  Criticism"— Directions  for  a  Young  Lady's  Reading— Ex- 
pensiveness  of  English  Wives — Hume's  "Jealousy  of  Commerce" — 
Baskerville's  Printing-Types— Property  of  the  Penn  Family — Death 
of  his  Mother-in-law— Lightning  Conductors  (1744-1762)  375~433 

CHAPTER    II. 

His  Reception  in  America — His  Son's  Marriage,  and  Appointmr nt  as 
Governor  of  New  Jersey — Tour  through  the  Colonies  as  Postmaster- 
General— Insurrection  of  the  Indians— Drafts  a  Militia  Bill — Its  Re- 
jection by  the  Governor — Drafts  a  Petition  to  the  Throne  for  a  Change 
of  Governor— Is  defeated  for  the  Assembly— Sent  to  England  again 
as  Agent  of  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania — Parting  Advice  to  his 
Daughter  (1762-1764)— Connecticut  Religion  ....    434-448 


CHAPTER    III. 

Jealousy  of  English  Manufacturers — Origin  of  the  Stamp  Act — Opposi- 
tion of  Franklin — Effect  of  its  Passage  in  America — Names  a  Stamp 
Distributor — Unpleasant  Consequences — Correspondence  with  Dean 
Tucker  (1764--1766) 449-466 


CHAFrER    IV. 
Franklin's  Examination  before  the  House  of  Commons  (1766)     .    467-510 

CHAPTER    V. 

Franklin  sends  his  Wife  a  New  Dress  on  the  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act 
— New  Disputes  with  the  Mother  Country — Colonies  required  to  pro- 
vide for  Soldiers — Lord  Chatham — Marriage  of  Sally  Franklin — Ex- 
periment of  making  Paper  Money  not  a  Legal  Tender — Advances 
of  the  French  Ambassador  to  Franklin — Visits  the  Continent — First 
Impressions  of  France  and  Germany  (1766-1767)    .         .         .     511-545 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Phe  Walpole  Grant  again — Change  of  Ministry — Hillsborough  named 
Secretary  of  State  for  America — Franklin  edits  "The  Farmer's 
Letters" — Particulars  of  his  Election  to  the  Royal  Society — Powers 

of  Parliament  over  the  Colonies  denned — Corruption  at  Elections 

Dissolution  of  Parliament  (1767-1768) 5^6-570 


CONTENTS   OF    VOLUME   I.  \j 


CHAPTER   VII. 

PAGE 

Poor  Richard's  Almanac 573-605 

APPENDIX. 

No.  1.   Preface  to  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  by  William  Temple  Franklin 607-611 

No.  2.  Preface  to  "  Correspondance  inedite,  etc.,  de  B.  Franklin,"  by 
M.  Charles  Malo 611-613 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGU 

Portrait  of  Franklin  engraved  by  Hall.  From  the 
original  painted  by  Duplessis  in  1783,  in  possession  of  the 
Editor.     Vol.  I Frontispiece. 

Portrait  of  James   Logan.     From  an  original  painting  in 

the  Logan ian  Library  in  Philadelphia.     Vol.  I.    .    facing    283 

Portrait  of  Dr.  John  Fothergill.  From  a  medallion  in 
possession  of  Madame  Ernest  von  Bunsen  at  Abbey  Lodge, 
London.     Vol.  I facing   365  a 

Portrait  of  William  Strahan.  From  a  painting  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  late  John  Spottiswoode,  Esq.    Vol.  I.   facing   375 

Portrait  of  Franklin.  From  an  original  pencil  drawing 
attributed  to  Jean  Martin  Renaud,  a  sculptor,  and  pre- 
sented by  W.  II.  Lucas,  Esq.,  of  Paris,  to  the  W.  H.  Hunt- 
ington Collection  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art. 
Vol.  II Frontispiece. 

Victor  Hugo's  Drawing  of  Franklin's  Residence  at 
Passy.  From  the  Tilden  Collection  in  the  New  York 
Public  Library,  Astor,  Lenox,  and  Tilden  foundation. 
Vol.  II 383 

Portrait  of  Donatien  Le  Ray.de  Chaumont.  From  an 
engraving  of  a  portrait  by  Robin  in  possession  of  the 
editor.     Vol.  II facing   430 

The  Chateau  de  Chaumont.     Vol.  II facing  480 

Portrait  of  Franklin.  From  the  chevillet  engraving  of 
the  Duplessis  portrait  of  1 778,  in  possession  of  Miss  E.  F. 
Harwood.     Vol.  Ill Frontispiece. 

Medallion  of  Franklin.  From  a  terra-cotta  original  signed 
Martin  Renaud,  presented  to  the  Wm.  II.  Huntington  Col- 
lection in  the   Metropolitan   Museum  of  Art    by  W.   H. 

Lucas.     Vol.  Ill facing   462 

18 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


FORTUNES  AND   MISFORTUNES   OF  THE  AUTOGRAPH 
MANUSCRIPT 


OF 


FRANKLIN'S  MEMOIRS  OF  HIS  OWN  LIFE.* 


FRANKLIN  began  his  autobiography,  the  longest  of 
his  writings,  during  his  residence  in  England  as 
agent  of  the  colonies,  in  the  year  1771.  He  was  at  the 
time  on  a  visit  to  the  family  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Shipley, 
Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of 
peculiar  and  cordial  intimacy.  The  part  then  written 
covers  the  period  from  his  birth,  in  1706,  to  his  marriage, 
in  1730.  It  was  executed  to  this  point,  he  informs  us, 
for  the  gratification  of  his  own  family.  It  afterwards  was 
continued,  at  the  solicitation  of  some  of  his  friends,  with 
the  expectation  that  it  would  ultimately  be  given  to  the 
public.     The  second  part,  which  is  comparatively  brief, 


*  Revised  from  Bigelow's  Autobiography  of  Franklin,  Lippincott, 
1868. 

19 


was  written  at  his  residence  in  Passy,  while  minister  to 
France.  The  third  part  was  begun  in  August,  1788,  after 
his  return  to  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  and  brings  the 
narrative  down  to  1757.  This  parHends  the  autobiography 
so  far  as  it  was  printed  up  to  1867,  when  the  first  edition 
ever  printed  from  the  original  manuscript  was  given  by 
me  to  the  public.  This  edition  contained  a  fourth  part, 
consisting  of  a  few  pages  written  in  1789,  which  had  never 
before  been  printed  in  English.  Franklin  died  in  the 
spring  of  the  following  year,  and  by  his  will  left  most  of 
his  papers  and  manuscripts,  this  autobiography  among 
them,  to  his  grandson,  William  Temple  Franklin,  who 
sailed  for  England  a  few  months  after,  with  the  intention, 
as  he  then  proclaimed,  of  publishing  it  in  a  collection  of 
his  grandfather's  works.  This  purpose  was  not  destined 
to  be  realized,  however,  until  after  an  interval  of  twenty- 
seven  or  twenty-eight  years.  Meantime,  and  in  the  year 
following  Franklin's  death,  a  French  version  of  the  first 
portion  of  the  autobiography  was  published  in  Paris.  From 
this  point  the  history  of  this  manuscript  is  a  succession 
of  surprises  which  has  scarce  any  parallel  in  ancient  or 
modern  bibliography,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
writings  of  Aristotle  and  the  "Table  Talk"  of  Martin 
Luther.  Where  the  text  was  obtained  from  which  this 
translation  was  made  and  by  whom  it  was  made  are  secrets 
which  the  grave  of  time  has  not  yet  given  up.* 

The    "  Nouvelle    Biographie    Generate, "    Paris,    1858, 
attributes  the  translation  to  Dr.  Jacques  Gibelin,  who  to 


*  Memoires  de  la  vie  privee  de  Benjamin  Franklyn,  ecrits  par  lui- 
meme  et  adresses  a  son  fils;  suivis  d'un  precis  historique  de  sa  vie 
politique,  et  de  plusieurs  precis  relatives  a  ce  pere  de  la  liberte.  A. 
Paris:  chez  Buisson,  Libraire,  rue  Hautefeuille  No.  20,  1791. 


'"        n  '9* 


the  professions  of  physician  and  naturalist  added  that  of 
a  translator  from  the  English.  Whether  he  or  some  one 
else  made  the  translation  is  of  very  little  consequence 
now.  It  would,  however,  be  a  satisfaction  to  know  how 
he  obtained  the  text  from  which  he  translated.  The  first 
sentence  in  his  preface  practically  concedes  that  it  was 
obtained  by  some  method  which  he  does  not  think  it 
worth  his  while  to  reveal  to  the  public. 

"I  shall  not  enter,"  he  says,  "into  a  detail  of  little 
importance  to  my  readers,  on  the  manner  in  which  the 
original  manuscript  of  these  memoirs,  which  is  in  Eng- 
lish, fell  into  my  hands.  From  the  moment  I  had  run 
over  it,  it  appeared  to  me  to  be  so  interesting  that  I  did 
not  hesitate  to  allow  myself  the  pleasure  of  putting  it  into 
French. ' ' 

It  appears  by  Franklin's  correspondence  that  copies  of 
this  first  part  of  his  autobiography  were  sent  to  his  friends 
Le  Veillard  and  Rochefoucault,  of  Paris,  and  Vaughan, 
of  London,  prior  to  his  beginning  work  on  the  second 
part.  It  hardly  admits  of  a  doubt  that  the  first  French 
version  of  1791  was  made  from  one  of  these. 

In  a  note  to  the  preface  of  this  first  edition,  the  pub- 
lisher says,  "Persons  curious  to  see  the  *  Memoirs  of  the 
Private  Life  of  Franklin'  in  their  original  tongue  may  in- 
scribe their  names  at  Buisson's,  bookseller,  rue  Hautefeuille. 
No.  20,  for  a  copy  of  this  work.  It  will  be  put  to  press 
as  soon  as  four  hundred  subscribers  are  secured.  The  price 
for  each  subscriber  will  be  forty-eight  sols  [a  half-dollar]." 
The  requisite  number  of  subscribers  was  probably  not 
secured,  for  no  English  version  of  the  autobiography  ap- 
peared until  two  years  later,  in  1793  ;  and  then  two  sepa- 
rate translations  were  published  in  London,  one  edited 


by  Dr.  Price,  and  commonly  known  as  the  Robinson 
edition.  In  this  the  editor  for  the  first  time  supplements 
the  fragment  of  autobiography,  which  only  comes  down 
to  1 731,  with  a  continuation  of  Dr.  Franklin's  life,  most 
of  which  had  appeared  in  the  Columbian  Magazine  of 
Philadelphia.  The  greater  part  of  this  supplementary 
sketch  was  written  by  Dr.  Henry  Stuber,  whose  death  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-four,  however,  brought  his  work 
to  a  somewhat  abrupt  conclusion.  Parsons's  edition  is 
another  translation  from  the  French  edition  of  Buisson. 

There  were  three  issues  of  Robinson's  edition  in  a  short 
time,  and  it  was  soon  reprinted  in  Dublin,  Dundee,  Edin- 
burgh, New  York,  Salem,  and  many  other  places,  while 
of  Parsons's  edition,  though  it  contains  some  matter  not 
to  be  found  in  Buisson' s  edition,  I  have  never  seen  a 
reprint. 

The  Robinson  edition  practically  kept  possession  of  the 
English  market  until  181 7,  when  William  Temple  Frank- 
lin published  a  new  edition  of  the  autobiography  in  his 
collection  of  the  works  of  his  grandfather.  It  was  taken 
from  the  copy  that  had  been  sent  by  Franklin  to  M.  le 
Veillard,  the  mayor  of  Passy,  one  of  his  most  devoted 
friends. 

From  this  forth  the  original  manuscript  of  the  autobi- 
ography went  into  eclipse.  It  was  known  not  to  be  among 
the  manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  William  Temple  Frank- 
lin, but  what  had  become  of  it — its  destruction  was  hardly 
conceivable  —  was  a  mystery.  Where  and  how  it  was  dis- 
covered, after  an  interval  of  half  a  century,  is  one  of  the 
remarkable  incidents  in  its  remarkable  history. 

Among  my  guests  one  day  at  dinner  in  Paris,  in  the 
summer  of  1866,  was  the  late  Professor  Laboulaye.     He 


19  d 

had  recently  translated  and  published  a  selection  from  the 
writings  of  Franklin,  and,  as  he  had  amiably  sent  me  a 
copy,  it  naturally  became  one  of  the  topics  of  our  con- 
versation. In  the  course  of  the  entertainment  I  asked  my 
guests,  who,  as  far  as  I  remember,  were  all  French  gentle- 
men of  letters,  if  they  had  ever  heard,  or  if  they  had  any 
reason  to  suspect,  that  the  original  manuscript  of  Frank- 
lin's autobiography  was  in  France.  All  answered  in  the 
negative.  I  then  assigned  some  reasons  for  thinking  that 
unless  it  had  been  destroyed,  which  was  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable,  it  was  somewhere  within  the  limits  of 
the  Empire. 

i  st.  I  said  I  had  received  the  impression  some  years 
previous  from  Mr.  Henry  Stevens,  a  professional  book- 
collector  in  London,  that  he  had  seen  the  manuscript  in 
the  hands  of  a  gentleman  residing  in  France, — I  had  an 
indistinct  impression  that  he  said  at  Amiens, — and  had 
only  been  discouraged  from  buying  it  by  the  price.* 


*  In  an  auction-sale  catalogue  of  "  Stevens's  Historical  Collec- 
tions," printed  in  1881,  Stevens  thus  refers  to  his  unsuccessful  effort 
to  acquire  this  manuscript : 

"  That  his  old  friend  might  possess  a  substantial  memorial  of  Frank- 
lin, the  grandson  left  the  original  draft  with  the  Veillard  family.  The 
writer  saw  it  in  185 2  at  Amiens  in  the  possession  of  M.  de  Senarmont, 
a  relative  by  marriage  of  M.  le  Veillard,  who  had  been  beheaded  in 
1794.  He  spent  two  days  with  that  amiable  gentleman  and  his 
family,  and  was  permitted  to  collate  the  autograph  with  Temple 
Franklin's  printed  text  of  the  autobiography.  The  manuscript  was 
then  the  undivided  property  of  three  persons.  They  were  all  there, 
but  on  consultation  were  not  willing  to  sell  unless  they  could  obtain  a 
sum  worth  dividing.  A  small  price,  therefore,  was  no  temptation. 
They  did  not  then  care  to  dispose  of  the  other  autograph  papers  or 
the  portrait  by  Duplessis.      The  writer  left  a  standing  offer  of  200 


19^ 

2d.  Romilly  (Sir  Samuel),  in  his  diary,  speaks  of  having 
looked  through  the  autobiography  of  Franklin  at  the  house 
of  a  friend  whom  he  was  visiting  in  Paris  in  1802. 

3d.  If,  as  this  record  authorized  the  belief,  the  original 
manuscript  was  ever  in  France,  there  was  every  reason  to 
presume  it  was  there  still. 

4th.  It  was  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that  a 
manuscript  of  that  character  could  be  in  the  United  States 
without  its  lodging-place  being  a  matter  of  common  noto- 
riety, whereas  none  of  Franklin's  numerous  biographers 
profess  to  have  had  any  trace  of  it  after  the  death  of  Wil- 
liam Temple  Franklin  in  1823. 

5th.  As  William  Temple  Franklin  embarked  for  Europe 
within  a  few  weeks  after  the  death  of  his  grandfather, 
whose  pipers  he  inherited,  and  never  returned  to  the 
United  States,  the  presumption  was  that  he  took  this 
manuscript  with  him,  and  that  it  was  in  Europe  and  not 
in  the  United  States. 

M.  Laboulaye  seemed  struck  by  the  force  of  these  con- 
siderations ;  said  he  had  a  friend  at  Amiens  who  would  be 
sure  to  know  if  any  literary  treasure  of  that  nature  was 
concealed  in  the  neighborhood  ;  and  if  in  France,  whether 
at  Amiens  or  not,  he  felt  confident  of  being  able  to  ascer- 
tain through  some  of  his  friends  in  the  Academy,  and  he 
very  kindly  volunteered  to  look  into  the  matter  at  once. 

Weeks  and  months  rolled  on,  but  I  heard  nothing 
further  of  the  manuscript. 

When  about  leaving  for  England  on  my  way  to  the 


pounds  for  it,  they  wanting  600  pounds.  As  it  was  not  an  unpublished 
paper,  the  purchase  was  not  completed,  though  considerable  friendly 
correspondence  followed." 


19/ 

United  States  in  the  winter  of  1867,  and  after  sending  my 
family  and  personal  baggage  to  the  railway  station,  I  set 
out  in  a  cab  to  make  two  or  three  farewell  calls  upon  some 
friends  whose  residences  were  not  much  off  my  route  to 
the  station.  Among  them  was  M.  Laboulaye.  During 
our  half-hour's  interview  I  asked  him  if  he  had  ever 
thought  to  make  any  inquiries  about  the  autobiography. 
He  replied  that  he  had,  but  that  his  friend  upon  whom 
he  specially  relied  had  not  been  able  to  throw  any  light 
upon  the  subject.  He  added,  however,  that  he  meant  to 
institute  some  further  inquiries  among  his  associates  of  the 
Academy,  and  if,  as  certainly  seemed  probable,  it  was  in 
France,  he  said  he  did  not  despair  of  finding  it.  I  thanked 
him,  gave  him  my  address  in  London  and  in  New  York, 
and  went  on  my  way. 

I  had  spent  nearly  a  month  in  London,  had  arranged  to 
sail  in  a  few  days  for  the  United  States,  and  had  nearly 
abandoned  all  expectation  of  hearing  anything  of  the 
autobiography,  when,  on  the  19th  of  January,  a  letter  from 
if.  Laboulaye  was  handed  me  by  the  postman,  which  in- 
forme.l  me  not  only  that  the  habitat  of  the  manuscript  had 
been  discovered,  but  that  it,  with  several  other  precious 
relics  of  our  illustrious  countryman,  could  be  bought  for 
a  price, — a  large  price,  it  is  true,  but  a  price  which  did 
not  seem  to  me  beyond  their  value  to  an  American.  M. 
Laboulaye's  letter  ran  as  follows : 

"  12  Janvier,  1867,  34  Rue  Taitbout. 

"  Cher  Monsieur  Bigelow  : 

"  Eureka !  J'ai  trouve,  grace  a  un  ami,  le  manuscrit  de 
Franklin  et  son  possesseur. 

"M.  de  Senarmont,  heritier  de  la  famille  Le  Veillaid, 


*9£ 

et  qui  demeure  a  Paris,  rue  de  Varennes,  No.  98,  nous 
ecrit  qu'il  possede : 

u  1.  Le  MS.  original  autograph  complet  (?)  des  me- 
moires  de  Franklin. 

"  2.  Une  collection  considerable  de  lettres  de  Franklin, 
formant  un  ensemble  de  correspondance. 

"3.  Un  portrait  en  pastel  de  Franklin,  donne  par  lui  a 
M.  le  Veillard. 

"Et  il  demande  de  tout  la  somme  de  vingt-cinq  mille 
francs.  Vous  voici  sur  la  voie.  C'est  a  vous  maintenant 
a  faire  ce  que  vous  conviendra.  Adieu  !  Recevez  encore 
tous  mes  voeux  pour  votre  bonheur  en  ce  monde  et  dans 
1' autre  (je  parle  du  Nouveau  Monde).    Votre  bien  devoue, 

"Ed.  Laboulaye." 

The  next  mail  took  from  me  a  letter  to  my  cherished 
friend  the  late  William  H.  Huntington,  in  Paris,  en- 
closing Laboulaye's  note,  asking  him  to  go  to  No.  98  Rue 
de  Varennes  and  examine  the  articles  referred  to,  and,  if 
satisfied  of  their  genuineness,  I  authorized  him  to  offer 
fifteen  thousand  francs  for  them.  In  two  or  three  days 
I  received  from  him  the  following  most  characteristic 
letter  : 

"  {High  private  and  fiducial.') 

"  22  Janvier ;  '67. 
"Dear  Mr.  Bigelow: 

"Yours  of  no  date  whatever  reached  me  Saturday,  and 

that  of  Mr.  Laboulaye*  the  same  afternoon.     M.  L[abou- 

laye]  knows  nothing  more  of  the  MSS.  and  portrait  than 


*  A  letter  of  introduction  to  M.  Laboulaye,  which  I  had  sent  him  by 
a  subsequent  post. 


what  he  wrote  you ;  gave  me  letter  of  presentation  to  M. 
Senarmont,  whom  he  does  not  know,  in  the  which  he 
mentioned  your  name  with  full  titles,  and  addressed  it  78 
Rue  de  Verneuil. 

"It  was  late  to  go  there  that  day.  A  '  glance  at  the 
map'  will  show  you  that  it  is  the  one-fourth  St.  Germain, 
and  so  I  did  not  go  Sunday. 

'*  Fytte  Second. 

"After  breakfast  and  ' girding  myself  up' — how  much 
easier  one  feels  after  it ! — I  took  the  letter  in  my  hand  on 
this  blessed  day,  and  got  myself  up  in  the  highest  number 
in  the  Rue  de  Verneuil,  which  I  found,  like  Franklin's 
Memoirs,  broken, off  some  time  before  78.  Whereupon  'I 
fetched  a  compass,'  as  St.  Paul  would  say,  and  ran  for 
Rue  de  Varennes,  where  I  presently  made  No.  98,  and 
hailing  the  concierge,  found  I  had  reached  port  this  time. 

"  Oh,  such  a  concierge — both  he  and  his  female  !  repu- 
table, civil,  in  a  comfortable  room.  While  getting  up  a 
broad,  clean  staircase,  did  hear  bell  ringing  in  the  court. 
By  the  time  I  reached  the  door  au  2 me,  a  gentle  domestic 
was  already  there — —  The  dining  room  was  thoroughly 
warmed  :  through  the  open  door,  into  the  salon ;  a  carpet 
continuous  with  the  parquet,  and  comfortable  chairs,  and 
other  quietly,  not  newly  rich  furnishing,  and  still  another 
fire,  offered  so  many  peaceful  indications  that  here  was  not 
a  shop  to  buy  things  cheap  in.  M.  de  S.  presently  ap- 
peared from  up-stairs  (occupy  two  floors,  then  !)  Hand- 
some (not  pretty),  33  a  37  years  of  age,  courteous,  shrewd 
I  guess,  but  really  a  gentleman.  He  said  that  the  MSS. 
were : 

u  1.    The    original    Autobiography,    with    interlinings, 


igz 

erasures,  etc.,  from  which  the  copy  was  made  that  was  sent 
to  W.  T.  Franklin,  and  the  first  translation :  It  is  in  folio, 
bound,  complete. 

"  2.  Letters,  mostly,  he  thinks,  to  M.  Veillard,  not  re- 
lating to  politics — at  least  not  specially  political — friendly 
letters, — and  not,  he  thinks,  ever  communicated  to  Mr. 
Sparks  or  other  book-making  person.  The  portrait  is  by 
Duplessis,  and,  according  to  a  'tradition  in  the  family,' 
the  original,  not  the  replica :  it  was  given  by  B.  F.  to  M. 
Veillard. 

"  He  had  neither  MSS.  nor  portrait  in  the  house :  they 
are  at  his  cousin's  (who  is,  as  I  understand,  part  owner  of 
them).  On  Wednesday  I  am  to  go  to  No.  98  Rue  de  V. 
again,  when  he  will  have  them  there  or  will  accompany  me 
to  his  cousin  to  see  them.  He  did  reside  formerly  in 
Amiens,  where  he  or  his  father  had  these  things.  An 
American,  he  thinks,  did  come  some  years  ago  to  see  the 
portrait  there ;  name  of  that  stranger  unknown ;  also  his 
quality,  whether  merely  an  inquisitive  traveller;  is  ready 
but  not  eager  to  sell  (if  he  knows  himself)  at  25,000 
francs  the  lot ;  does  not  want  to  sell  any  one  of  the  three 
articles  separately.  Does  not  know  that  the)'  are  mercan- 
tilely  worth  25,000  francs,  but  intimates  that  he  shall  run 
the  risk  of  waiting  for  or  provoking  the  chance  of  that 
price  being  given.  Has  been  applied  to  by  a  photographer 
(this  some  time  ago)  to  photograph  the  portrait:  declined 
proposition  at  the  time,  but  now  conceives  that  it  might 
gratify  curiosity  of  Americans  coming  to  Exposition  next 
May  to  see  copies  of  it,  or  the  original  hung  up  there  ! 

"I  fancy  that  this  Universal  French-Exposition  idea 
stands  more  in  the  way  of  reducing  the  price  than  any- 
thing else. 


i97 

"I  write  you  all  these  things  so  that,  if  you  see  fit,  you 
can  let  me  know  before  Wednesday  noon  whether  15,000 
francs  is  yuur  last  price.  Please  write  me  by  mail  any 
suggestions  or  directions  you  will :  also  how,  in  case  he 
does  yield  to  the  charm  of  15,000  down,  and  I  can  get  the 
MSS.  and  portrait  in  time,  I  am  to  send  them  to  you. 
Suppose  M.  de  S.  yields  on  Wednesday  the  23d,  I  get 
your  money  Saturday  the  26th,  and  the  articles  that  night. 
I  express  them  Sunday  morning  the  27th.  And  seeing  we 
are  in  France,  that  is  the  quickest  time  we  could  hope  to 
make.  I  must  hurry  now  to  catch  the  mail. 
"Yours  truly, 

"W.  H.  Huntington." 

On  the  24th  of  January  I  received  a  second  letter  from 
Huntington,  giving  the  results  of  his  first  view  of  what  he 
terms  the  "  Franklinienacs  :" 

"  Paris  (8  Rue  de  Boursault),  23  Jan.,  1867. 
"Dear  Mr.  Bigelow : 

"I  have  seen  the  Frankliniseries  (say  Franklinienacs). 
The  autobiography  is  writ  on  large  foolscap,  bound  very 
simply,  but  without  the  slightest  lesion  of  the  pages.  This 
is  undoubtedly  the  original  manuscript,  with  interlining, 
erasures,  marginal  notes,  and  blots  (of  which  one  smasher, 
that  was  smatched  thin  nearly  over  one  page)  of  B.  F.  of 
the  period.  It  is  complete  in  both  parts.  The  French 
publication  of  1791  stops  with  the  first  part,  you  recollect 
— and  more  complete  than  the  '  clean  copy'  from  which 
W.  T.  Franklin  printed  the  two  parts;  i.e.,  it  has  several 
more  pages  after  the  arrival  in  London  in  1757,  where 
W.  T.  F.'s  print  stops.  I  should  think  there  are  other 
passages  in  this  MS.  omitted  by  W.  T.  F.,  or  by  the  writer 


19  k 

of  the  clean  copy.  The  MS.  closes  with  these  words: 
'  They  were  never  put  in  execution.' 

"  Of  the  letters  only,  two  or  three  are  from  B.  F.— one 
dated  Philadelphia,  1787;  another,  ditto,  1788;  16  or  14 
are  from  W.  Temple  Franklin,  2  from  Sarah  Bache,  2  from 
B.  F.  Bache :  all  addressed  to  M.  Veillard.  I  judge,  from 
what  ,M.  Paul  de  Senarmont  said,  that  they  do  not  relate 
to  political  subjects.  I  had  not  time  to  read  any  of  them, 
having  to  go  to  M.  George  de  Senarmont,  the  cousin,  to 
see  the  portrait. 

"It  is  nearly  a  half-length,  life-size  pastel,  perfectly 
well  preserved,  under  glass,  not  a  franc  of  additional  value 
from  the  frame.  It  is  not  signed.  A  labelled  black  and 
gilt  statement,  which  is  undoubtedly  true,  is  attached  to 
the  bottom  of  the  frame,  and  reads  nearly  as  follows : 
1  Portrait  de  Benjamin  Franklin,  age  77,  donne  par  lui- 
meme  a  M.  Veillard.  Peint  par  J.  S.  Duplessis,  1783.'  I 
have  no  doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  the  portrait.  M.  S. 
says  that  the  family  tradition  is  that  this  was  the  original, 
and  the  other  one,  which  was  in  possession  of  W.  T.  Frank- 
lin (?),  the  replica.  Duplessis  had  a  good  reputation  as  a 
portrait-painter.  The  Biographie  Nouvelle  cites,  among 
twelve  of  his  most  esteemed  portraits,  one  of  Franklin  in 
the  'Galerie  Pamard  a  Avignon.'  The  one  that  Mr. 
Edward  Brooks  bought  of  J.  de  Mancy,  or  his  heirs,  a  few 
years  ago,  was  claimed  to  be  by  Duplessis.  That  was  in 
oils;  it  was  offered  to  me  by  old  de  Mancy,  in  1852,  for 
2000  francs.  There  was  a  break  in  his  history  of  it  that 
led  me  to  suspect  that  it  might  be  a  copy. 

"  M.  de  Senarmont  holds  firmly  to  the  fixed  price  of 
25,000  francs:  agrees  that  it  may  be  an  extravagant  one, 
but  will  not  set  any  other  till  after  the  Exposition.     He 


i9/ 

means  to  advertise  Americans  here  of  the  manuscripts  and 
portrait,  and  where  they  may  be  seen,  depositing  them  for 
that  end  with  some  bookseller  or  other  party.  Meantime, 
he  is  quite  willing  to  keep  my  address,  and  in  case  he  does 
not  sell  at  Exposition  season,  to  talk  further  about  the 
matter.  The  manuscripts  and  portraits  are,  as  I  under- 
stand him,  an  undivided  family  pioperty.   ..." 

Immediately  upon  receipt  of  the  foregoing  I  sent  Mr. 
Huntington  a  check  on  John  Munroe  &  Co.,  in  Paris,  for 
twenty-five  thousand  francs,  and  told  him  to  buy  the  col- 
lection on  as  favorable  terms  as  possible,  but  not  to  leave 
without  it,  and,  when  bought,  to  forward  by  the  first  con- 
veyance to  London,  that  it  might  be  sure  to  reach  me 
before  I  sailed. 

In  reply  to  this  I  received,  on  the  28th,  the  following 
letter : 

"  Paris  (8  Rue  de  Boursault),  January  27,  1867. 
"  Ever  Honored: 

"  My  passage  out  from  apartment  in  search  of  breakfast 
this  morning  was  obstructed  by  the  concierge  handing  your 
letter  of  24th.  Yours  of  2 2d  leaving  all  to  my  discretion, 
I  thought  it  discreetest  not  to  spend  so  large  a  sum  as  25m. 
frs.  without  positive  orders.  These  last  instructions  being 
decisive,  I  gat  myself; 

"  Onely,  to  Munroe  &  Co.'s,  where  I  showed  Mr. 
Richards  (who  had  his  hat  on)  your  enabling  act  to  them 
for  my  drawing  of  Pactolian  draughts  to  the  amount  of  25 
m.  frs. 

"  2ly,  to  Legoupy,  a  printseller  of  my  acquaintance,  on 
Blvd  cie  la  Madeleine,  to  ask  how  best  the  portrait  of  B. 
F.   could  be   safely  packed,   with  or  without   the   glass. 


19  m 

'With,'  quoth  he  decidedly.  Then  I  asked  if  he  would 
charge  himself  with  the  packing,  he  being  much  in  the 
way  of  sending  large  framed  and  glazed  engravings  out  of 
the  city ;  and  he  said  he  would. 

"  Threely,  to  the  S.  E.  R.  way  and  package  and  express 
office,  to  ask  at  what  latest  minute  they  would  receive  and 
'forward  packages  to  London,  which  proved  to  be  5  o'clock 
p.  M. 

"  Four  mostly  to  breakfast.  Presently  after  that  refec- 
tion I  girded  up  my  loins  and  took  voiture  for  98  Rue  de 
Varennes.  Coming  into  the  presence  of  M.  Paul  de  Senar- 
mont,  I  spake,  saying:  'I  will  take  the  Franklineaments 
and  MSS.  on  these  three  conditions :  1.  That  I  take  them 
immediately;  2.  That  you  deduct  200  francs  from  the 
25,000  frs.  to  pay  my  expenses  for  going  with  them  to 
London  ;  3.  That  you  furnish — sending  it  to  me  hereafter 
for  Mr.  Bigelow— the  history  of  the  transitions  of  the  three 
Frank! inienacs  from  M.  Veillard's  to  your  hands.' 

"All  of  which  being  agreed  to,  I  wrote  then  and  there 
an  order,  draught,  draft,  or  whatever  the  name  of  the 
paper  may  be,  on  J.  M.  &  Co.  for  24,800  francs  in  his 
favor  at  3  days'  vision.  Then  P.  de  S.  and  the  literary 
remains  of  B.  F.,  and  self  with  cane,  being  bestowed  in 
the  voiture  (No.  of  the  same  not  preserved),  we  careered 
away  to  Cousin  George  de  Senarmont's,  No.  23  Rue  de 
Sevres.  While  Paul  went  in  unto  George,  to  the  bedroom 
of  him — for  George  was  poorly,  it  seems,  this  morning, 
and  late  abed ;  leastway,  late  to  breakfast — I  ventured  to 
relieve  B.  F.  from  the  state  of  suspense  he  was  in  on  the 
wall  of  the  salon,  screwed  out  of  his  frame  the  iron  ring, 
and,  in  the  distraction  of  the  moment,  gave  it  to  Cousin 
George's  housekeeper. 


19  n 

"  That  was  what  B.  F.  calls  an  erratum,  for  I  have  often 
use  for  that  sort  of  screw — which  the  housekeeper,  let  us 
hope,  could  not  care  for. 

"Repacking,  now,  Paul  de  S.,  the  MSS.,  umbrella, 
cane,  and  B.  F.  his  eidolon,  which  I  sustained  ever  with 
one  hand,  into  the  carriage,  I  bade  cocher  drive  to  7  Rue 
Scribe,  where  I  presented  M.  P.  de  S.  to  Mr.  J.  Munroe, 
to  whom  I  committed  your  enabling  note  and  identified 
Paul.  Then  P.  de  S.  wished  good  voyage  to  London,  and 
the  cocher  asked,  as  I  was  delicately  handling  B.  F.s  por- 
trait, if  that  was  the  Franklin  who  perished  in  the  Northern 
Seas.  Queer  but  disappointing.  Cocher  evidently  took  a 
lively  interest  in  the  frozen  party,  and  but  a  cold,  indifferent 
one  in  the  to  him  unheard-of  philosopher.  Now  straight 
to  Legoupy's,  whose  packer  declared  he  could  have  all 
ready  by  4  o'clock.  I  did  not  believe  him,  but  by  way  of 
encouragement  pretended  to,  and  held  out  to  him  as  reward, 
in  case  of  success,  that  I  would  gladly  contribute  something 
to  the  Washington  Monument,  which,  let  us  hope,  will 
never  be  completed. 

"There  was  time  enough  between  this  and  five  o'clock 
to  go  to  the  Legation,  but  small  chance  of  finding  Mr.  Dix 
there.  So  I  went  to  the  consulate  and  offered  David  *  to 
pay  his  passage  and  expenses  if  he  would  go  with  B.  F.  to 
London  to-night.  David  would  gladly  but  could  not; 
had  infrangible  pre-engagements  for  this  evening ;  I  almost 
found,  but  missed  another  man,  who  would,  it  was  thought, 
take  charge  of  the  box  and  surely  deliver  it  Sunday,  for 
50  francs.     During  these  entrefaites,  four  o'clock  sounded. 


*  The  trusty  messenger  at  the  Consulate,  and  now  the  Dean  of  the 
representatives  of  the  United  States  in  foreign  parts. 


igo 

At  one  quarter  past,  the  caisse  was  on  the  back  of  Legoupy's 
boy  following  your  servant  up  the  Boulevard.  The  very 
best  I  could  do  at  the  R.  and  express  office  was  to  obtain 
the  most  positive  assurance,  that  a  special  messenger  should 
take  the  box  from  Cannon  Street  to  Cleveland  Square* 
before  noon  on  Monday.  There  is  no  delivery  at  any 
price  on  Sunday.  I  was  on  the  point  of  deciding — what 
I  had  been  debating  ever  since  morning — to  take  a  go  and 
return  ticket  and  carry  box  and  baggage  to  London  myself. 
But  you  know  how  1  hate  travelling  at  all  times.  On 
leaving  the  express  office,  I  passed  a  brief  telegrammatic 
sentence  to  your  address,  through  the  window  of  Grand 
Hotel  T.  bureau.  The  gentleman  who  counted  its  letters 
estimated  them  at  6  francs,  which  is  more,  proportionately, 
than  what  you  paid  for  B.  F.'s  MSS.  and  flattering  to  me. 
If  I  am  ever  able,  I  shall  set  up  a  telegraph  wire,  and  dance 
on  to  fortune. 

"Although  my  way  along  the  quais  and  other  marts 
where  books  do  congregate,  are  not  as  they  were  when  you 
were  my  fellow  pilgrim,  yet  are  they  still  not  all  without 
pleasantness.  Thus,  coming  away  from  my  annual  visit  to 
the  neuvaine  fete  of  St.  Genevieve  three  weeks  ago,  I  fell 
upon  the  rummest  bronze  medallion  of  B.  Franklin 
(hitherto  quite  unheard  of  by  this  subscriber)  that  ever 
you  could  conceive  of.  And  yet  another  day,  one  of  those 
days  lapsed  last  week  from  the  polar  circles  into  the  more 
temperate  society  of  our  Paris  time,  I  clutched  with  numb 
fingers  a  diminutive  little  410  of  pp.  48  with  this  title  :  '  La 
Science  du  Bonhomme  Richard  par  M.  Franklin :  suivie 
des  dix  commandements  de  l'Honnete  Homme,  par  M. 


*  Where  I  was  staying  with  some  friends. 


i9p 

Fintry — prix  quatre  sols.  Se  vend  a  Paris,  chez  Renault, 
Libraire,  Rue  de  la  Harpe. — 1778.'  So,  another  day,  was 
all  my  homeward  walk  a  path  of  exceeding  peace  by  reason 
of  the  primary,  pre-adamite,  genuine,  juvenile,  original 
Eloge  de  Franklin  hugged  under  my  arm,  like  healing  in 
the  wing.  But  the  half  of  the  enjoyment  of  these  good 
gifts  of  fortune  fails  me,  in  that  I  have  no  one  now  to 
congratulate  me  or  hate  me  for  their  acquisition. 

"  M.  de  Senarmont  promises  me  a  letter  giving  the 
historique  of  the  triad  of  Franklin  treasures,  from  the  time 
of  M.  le  Veillard  to  his  possession  of  them.  It  will  not 
amount  to  much, — not  from  lack  of  willingness  on  his 
part,  but  because  the  special  sense  is  wanting  in  him.  A 
dry  authenticating  certificate,  however,  I  will  insist  on 
having,  and  will  forward  it  to  your  American  address, 
which  do  not  forget  to  advertise  me  of  from  Liverpool  or 
London. 

"  M.  de  S.  asks  me  to  ask  you,  if  you  have  the  Du- 
plessis  photographed,  to  send  him  two  or  three  cards; 
please  add  one  other  or  two  for  me,  since  you  will  be 
apt  to  send  them  to  my  address.  I  shall  be  glad  to  have 
word  from  you,  though  in  your  flitting  hurry  it  must  be 
brief,  from  London,  and  much  gladder  to  have  news  from 
America  that  you  and  yours  are  all  safely  and  soundly 
arrived  there. 

"With  best  regards  and  good  wishes  to  all  your  house, 
I  rest 

"Yours  truly, 

"  W.  H.  Huntington. 

"  Here  followeth  an  account  of  ye  expenditures,  outlays, 
and  disbursements  of  ye  Franklin  Expedition. 


igq 

Francs. 

To  a  chariot  and  ye  horseman  thereof.  Hire  of  the 
vehicles  and  pourboire,  as  it  were  oats  to  the  driver 
for  the  greater  speed 5 

To  packing  B.  Franklin  under  glass  and  in  MSS. 
with  extra  haste  and  yet  care         ....       9 

To  the  binding  of  B.  F.  on  a  boy  his  back  and  por- 
terage of  the  same l 

To  studiously  brief  telegrammatic  phrase  sent  to 
London         6 

To  arduous  sperrits  (with  water)  taken  for  sustenta- 

tion  of  the  body  thys  day 0.50 

Condamned  tottle     ....     21.50" 

On  the  29th  I  received  the  following  certificate  of  authen- 
tication from  M.  de  Senarmont : 

"Paris,  27  Janvier,  1867. 

"Monsieur: 

"  J'ai  l'honneur  de  vous  remettre  ci-contre  une  note  de 
tous  les  renseignements  que  j'ai  pu  recueillir  sur  le  manu- 
scrit  de  Franklin  dont  M.  Huntington  s'est  rendu  hier 
acquerir  en  votre  nom. 

"  Je  suis  heureux  de  vous  voir  possesseur  de  ces  precieux 
souvenirs,  et  du  beau  portrait  du  fondateur  de  la  liberte  de 
votre  patrie. 

"La  rapidite  avec  laquelle  j'ai  ete  oblige  de  remettre  le 
portrait  a  M.  Huntington  m'a  empeche  de  le  faire  repro- 
duce par  la  photographie  comme  j'en  avais  l'intention. 
Dans  le  cas  ou  vous  ferez  faire  cette  reproduction  je  vous 
serais  bien  reconnaissant  de  vouloir  bien  m'en  envoyer  trois 
exemplaires. — J'ai  l'honneur  de  vous  temoigner,  Monsieur, 
l'expression  de  ma  plus  haute  consideration. 

'  0  _      ,   „  "P.  de  Senarmont. 

**  98  Rue  de  Varennes. 

"  Monsieur  John  Bigelow, 

"  Ancien  Ministre  des  Etats-  Unis. 


i9  r 

"  Les  manuscrits  de  memoires  de  Franklin  est  nn  in-folio 
de  220  pages  ecrit  a  uni-marge,  sur  papier  dont  tous  les 
cahiers  ne  sont  pas  uniformes. 

"  M.  le  Veillard,  gentilhomme  ordinaire  du  Roi,  Maire 
de  Passy,  etait  intime  ami  du  Docteur  Franklin.  II  avait 
vecu  avec  lui  a  Passy  (pres  Paris)  dans  une  societe  de 
tous  les  jours,  pendant  le  temps  de  Franklin  en  France  a 
l'epoque  de  la  guerre  de  Tindependance  americaine,  et 
c'est  de  sa  patrie  que  le  docteur  lui  envoya,  comme  gage 
d'amitie,  la  copie  de  ses  memoires  echange  depuis  contre 
1' original. 

'*  Le  manuscrit  original  est  unique. 

"  M.  William  Temple  Franklin,  petit-fils  de  Benjamin 
Franklin,  l'a  recueilli  au  deces  de  son  a'ieul  qui  lui  avait 
legue  tous  ses  ecrits.  Lorsque  M.  Temple  vient  en  France 
pour  y  faire  l'edition  qu'il  a  publie,  il  demanda  a  M.  le 
Veillard  sa  copie  pour  la  faire  imprimer,  parcequ'elle  lui 
parut  plus  commode  pour  le  travail  typographique,  a  cause 
de  sa  nettete.  II  donna  a  M.  Veillard  en  echange  de  sa 
copie  le  manuscrit  original  entierement  ecrit  de  la  main  de 
Franklin. 

"1/ original  etait  cependant  plus  complet  que  la  copie, 
ce  que  M.  Temple  n' avait  pas  verifie.  On  en  trouve  la 
preuve  au  2e  volume  de  la  petite  edition  des  Memoires  en 
2  volumes,  en  i8mo,  donnee  par  Jules  Renouard,  a  Paris, 
en  1S28.  On  y  lit,  en  tete  d'une  suite  qu'il  fait  paraitre 
pour  la  premiere  fois,  une  note  (page  21),  ou  il  declare 
devoir  cette  suite  a  la  communication  que  la  famille  Le 
Veillard  lui  a  donne  du  manuscrit. 

"  L' inspection  seule  en  demontre  l'authenticite  a  l'appui 
de  laquelle  viennent  d'ailleurs  des  preuves  positives  tirees 
de  differentes  pieces ;  telles  que  :  3  lettres  du  Dr.  Franklin 


20 

a  M.  le  Veillard,  n  lettres  de  M.  William  Temple  Franklin 
et  diverses  lettres  de  Benjamin  Franklin  Bache,  de  Sarah 
Bache,  de  M.  le  Veillard  en  1791,  etc. 

"  M.  le  Veillard,  qui  est  l'auteur  de  la  traduction  fran- 
chise des  Memoires  de  Franklin,  a  conserve  le  manuscrit 
autographe  avec  le  meme  sentiment  qui  avait  determine 
son  ami  a  lui  envoyer  ses  memoires  encore  inedits. 

"Apres  la  mort  de  M.  le  Veillard,  qui  perit  sur  l'echa- 
faud  revolutionnaire  en  1794,  le  manuscrit  a  passe  a  sa 
fille:  au  deces  de  celle-ci  en  1834,  il  est  devenu  la  pro- 
priety de  son  cousin  M.  de  Senarmont,  dont  le  petit-fils 
a  cede  le  26  Janvier,  1867,  a  Mr.  John  Bigelow,  ancien 
Ministre  des  Etats  Unis  a  Paris. 

"  Le  manuscrit  est  accompagne  d'un  beau  portrait  au 

pastel  par  Duplessis.     Franklin  avait  pose  pour  ce  portrait 

pendant  son  sejour  a  Passy  et  en  avait  fait  cadeau  a  M.  le 

Veillard. 

"P.  de  Senarmont. 

"Paris,  le  26  Janvier,  1867." 

Several  months  elapsed  after  my  return  to  the  United 
States  before  a  propitious  occasion  presented  itself  for  me 
to  verify  the  correctness  of  the  statement  in  M.  de  Senar- 
mont's  note  that  my  manuscript  was  more  complete  than 
the  copy  which  had  been  used  in  preparing  the  edition 
published  by  William  Temple  Franklin  and  copied  by 
Dr.  Sparks.  It  had  not  occurred  to  me  that  the  text 
had  been  tampered  with  in  England  after  it  had  left  the 
writer's  hand.  A  very  careful  comparison  of  it  with  the 
edition  which  appeared  in  London  in  181 7,  and  which  was 
the  first  and  only  edition  that  ever  had  been  printed  from 
the  manuscript,  revealed  the  curious  fact  that  more  than 
twelve  hundred  separate  and  distinct  changes  had  been 


21 


made  in  the  text,"  and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  that  the 
last  eight  pages  of  the  manuscript  were  lacking. 

Many  of  these  changes  are  mere  modernizations  of 
style  ;  such  as  would  measure  some  of  the  modifications 
which  English  prose  had  undergone  between  the  days  of 
Goldsmith  and  Southey.  Some,  Franklin  might  have 
approved  of;  others  he  might  have  tolerated;  but  it  is 
safe  to  presume  that  very  many  he  would  have  rejected 
without  ceremony. 

A  few  specimens  taken  from  the  first  chapter  will  show 
the  general  character  of  these  changes. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  very  first  words  of  tht 
edition  of  1817  are  interpolations.     It  commences: 

u  To  William  Franklin,  Governor  of  New  Jersey. 
"  Dear  Son,  &c." 

The  autograph  commences  with  "  Dear  Son,"  naming 
no  person. 

Though  William  was  the  Doctor's  only  surviving  son, 
and  in  1771,  when  this  was  commenced,  was  also  Gov- 
ernor of  New  Jersey,  it  is  very  unlikely  that  the  Doctor 
would  have  given  his  son  any  titles  in  addressing  him  a 
communication  of  this  domestic  and  confidential  charac- 
ter. This  improbability  is  increased  by  the  circumstance 
that  at  the  time  this  manuscript  was  revised  and  copied  to 
be  sent  to  his  friend  Le  Veillard,  William  Franklin  not 
only  was  not  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  but  was  not  living 
upon  terms  even  of  friendly  correspondence  with  his 
father.  The  fact  that  the  French  version  commences 
with  "  Mon  cher  fils,"  omitting  the  name  and  title,  leaves 
no  doubt  that  the  titles  were  added  by  the  editor  in  the 
edition  of  1817. 


/ 


22 


(From  the  Edition  of  1817,/.  I.*) 
Imagining  it  may  be  equally 
agreeable  to  you  to  learn  the  cir- 
cumstances of  my  life,  many  of 
which  you  are  unacquainted  with, 
and  expecting  the  enjoyment  of  a 
few  weeks1  uninterrupted  leisure,  I 
sit  down  to  write  them.  Besides, 
there  are  some  other  inducements 
that  excite  me  to  this  undertaking. 
From  the  poverty  and  obscurity  in 
which  I  was  born,  and  in  which  I 
passed  my  earliest  years,  I  have 
raised  myself  to  a  state  of  affluence 
and  some  degree  of  celebrity  in  the 
world.  As  constant  good  fortune  has 
accompanied  me  even  to  an  advanced 
period  of  life,  my  posterity  will  per- 
haps be  desirous  of  learning  the 
means  which  I  employed,  and  which, 
thanks  to  Providence,  so  well  suc- 
ceeded with  me.  They  may  also 
deem  them  fit  to  be  imitated,  should 
any  of  them  find  themselves  in  simi- 
lar circumstances. 

(From  the  Edition  of  1817,/.  4.) 

My  grandfather  Thomas,  who 
was  born  1598,  lived  at  Ecton  till 
he  was  too  old  to  continue  his  busi- 
ness, when  he  retired  to  Banbury 
in  Oxfordshire  to  the  house  of  his 
son  John  with  whom  my  father 
served  an  apprenticeship.  There 
my  uncle  died  and  lies  buried. 


{From  the  Autograph,  /.I.) 
Imagining  it  may  be  equally 
agreeable  to  you  to  know  the  cir- 
cumstances of  my  life,  many  of 
which  you  are  yet  unacquainted 
with,  and  expecting  a  week's  un- 
interrupted leisure  in  my  present 
country  retirement,  I  sit  down  to 
write  them  for  you. 

To  which  I  have  besides  some 
other  inducements.  Having  emerged 
from  the  poverty  and  obscurity  in 
which  I  was  born  and  bred  to  a 
state  of  affluence  and  some  de- 
gree of  reputation  in  the  world, 
and  having  gone  so  far  through  life 
with  a  considerable  share  of  felicity, 
the  conducing  means  I  made  use  of, 
which,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  so 
well  succeeded,  my  posterity  may  like 
to  know,  as  they  may  find  some  of 
them  suitable  to  their  own  situations, 
and  therefore  fit  to  be  imitated. 


{From  the  Autograph,  p.  1.) 

My  grandfather  Thomas,  who 
was  born  in  1598,  lived  at  Ecton 
till  he  grew  too  old  to  follow  busi- 
ness longer  when  he  went  to  live 
with  his  son  yohn,  a  dyer,  at  Ban- 
bury in  Oxfordshire  with  whom 
my  father  served  an  apprentice- 
ship. There  my  grandfather  died 
and  lies  buried. 


*  Whenever  I  shall  have  occasion  to  cite  the  edition  of  1817,  refer- 
ence will  be  made  to  the  American  edition  of  this  work,  in  six  vols., 
published  in  Philadelphia  in  181 8. 


23 


{Edition  of  1817,/.  4.) 

My  grandfather  had  four  sons 
jvho  grew  up,  viz.:  Thomas,  John, 
Benjamin  and  Josiah.  Being  at  a 
distance  from  my  papers,  I  will  give 
you  what  account  I  can  of  them 
from  memory,  and  if  my  papers 
are  not  lost  in  my  absence,  you  will 
find  among  tliem  many  more  par- 
ticulars. 


[Omitted.] 

{From  the  Edition  of  1817,/.  10.) 
I  suppose  you  may  like  to  know 
what  kind  of  a  man  my  father  was. 
He  had  an  excellent  constitution, 
and  was  of  a  middle  stature,  well 
set,  and  very  strong;  he  could 
draw  prettily,  and  was  a  little 
skilled  in  music;  his  voice  was  son- 
orous and  agreeable  so  that  when 
he  played  on  his  violin  and  sung 
withal,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do 
after  the  business  of  the  day  was 
over,  it  was  extremely  agreeable  to 
hear.  He  had  some  knowledge  of 
mechanics,  and  on  occasion  was 
very  handy  with  other  tradesmen's 
tools  but  his  great  excellence  was 
his  sound  understanding,  etc. 

{Edition  of  1817,/.  1 5.) 
About  this  time  I  met  with  an 
odd  volume  of  the  Spectator.     I 
had  never  before  seen  any  of  them. 


{Autograph,  p.  2.) 

My  grandfather  had  four  sons 
that  grew  up,  viz.:  Thomas,  John, 
Benjamin  and  Josiah.  I  will  give 
you  what  account  I  can  of  them  at 
this  distance  from  my  papers,  and  if 
these  are  not  lost  in  my  absence,  you 
will,  among  them,  find  many  more 
particulars. 

{Autograph,  p.  3.) 
I  was  named  after  this  uncle, 
there  being  a  particular  affection 
between  him  and  my  father. 

{From  the  Autograph,  p.  7.) 
/  think  you  may  like  to  know 
something  of  his  person  and  charac- 
ter. He  had  an  excellent  constitu- 
tion of  body,  was  of  middle  stature, 
but  well  set  and  very  strong;  he 
was  ingenious;  could  draw  prettily, 
and  was  skilled  a  little  in  music, 
and  had  a  clear,  pleasing  voice,  so 
that  when  he  played  psalm  tunes 
on  his  violin,  and  sung  withal,  as 
kt  sometimes  did  in  an  evening,  after 
the  business  of  the  day  was  over, 
it  was  extremely  agreeable  to  hear. 
He  had  a  mechanical  genius  too,  and 
on  occasion  was  very  handy  in  the 
use  of  other  tradesmen's  tools  but 
his  great  excellence  lay  in  a  sound 
understanding,  etc. 

{Autograph,  p.  13.) 
About  this  time  I  met  with  an 
odd  volume  of  the  Spectator.     // 
was  the  third.     I  had  never  before, 
etc. 


24 


{From  Edition  of  1817,/.  16.) 

The  time  /  allotted  for  writing 
Exercises  and  for  reading  was  at 
night  or  before  work  began  in  the 
morning  or  on  Sunday,  when  I 
contrived  to  be  in  the  printing 
house,  evading  as  much  as  I  could 
the  constant  attendance  at  public 
worship,  which  my  father  used  to 
exact  from  me  when  I  was  under 
his  care  and  which  I  still  con- 
tinued to  consider  as  a  duty,  though 
I  could  not  afford  time  to  practice 
it 

{Edition  of  181 7,  p.  21.) 
He  agreed  with  the  captain  of  a 
New  York  sloop  to  take  me  under 
pretence  of  my  being  a  young  man 
of  his  acquaintance  that  had  an 
intrigue  with  a  girl  of  bad  charac- 
ter, whose  parents  would  compel 
me  to  marry  her ;  and  that  I  could 
neither  appear  or  come  away  pub- 
licly. 

(From  the  Edition  of  181 7,  p.  23.) 
On  approaching  the  island,  we 
found  it  was  in  a  place  where  there 
could  be  no  landing,  there  being  a 
great  surf  on  the  stony  beach,  so 
we  dropped  anchor  and  swung  out 
our  cable  towards  the  shore.  Some 
people  came  down  to  the  shore  and 
hallooed  as  we  did  to  them,  but  the 
wind  was  so  high  and  the  surf  so 
loud  that  we  could  not  understand 
each  other.  There  were  some 
small  boats  near  the  shore  and  we 
made  signs  and   called   them  to 


(From  the  Autography  p.  14.) 
My  time  for  these  exercises  and 
for  reading  was  at  night  after  work, 
or  before  it  began  in  the  morning 
or  on  Sundays,  when  I  contrived 
to  be  in  the  printing  house  alone, 
avoiding  as  much  as  I  could  the 
Common  attendance  on  public  wor- 
ship which  my  father  used  to 
exact  from  me  when  I  was  under 
his  care  and  which,  indeed,  I  still 
thought  a  duty,  though  I  could  not, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  afford  time  to 
practice  it 

(Autograph,  p.  22.) 
He  agreed  with  the  captain  of  a 
New  York  sloop  for  my  passage, 
under  the  notion  of  my  being  a 
young  acquaintance  of  his  that  had 
got  a  naughty  girl  with  child,  whose 
friends  would  compel  me  to  marry 
her,  and  therefore  I  could  not  ap- 
pear, or  come  away  publicly. 


(From  the  Autograph,  p.  24.) 
When  we  drew  near  the  island 
we  found  it  was  at  a  place  where 
there  could  be  no  landing,  there  be- 
ing a  great  surf  on  the  stonv  beach, 
so  we  dropped  anchor  and  swung 
around  toward  the  shore.  Some 
people  came  down  to  the  water 
edge  and  hallooed  to  us  as  we  did  to 
them,  but  the  wind  was  so  high 
and  the  surf  so  loud,  that  we  could 
not  hear,  so  as  to  understand  each 
other.  There  were  canoes  on  the 
shore,  and  we  made  signs  and  hoi- 


25 


fetch  us;  but  they  either  did  not 
comprehend  us,  or  it  was  imprac- 
ticable, so  they  went  off;  night  ap- 
proaching, we  had  no  remedy  but 
to  have  patience  till  the  wind  abated, 
and  in  the  meantime  the  boatman 
and  myself  concluded  to  sleep  if 
we  could ;  and  so  we  crowded  into 
the  hatches  where  we  joined  the 
Dutchman,  who  was  still  wet,  and 
the  spray  breaking  over  the  head 
of  our  boat,  etc. 

{From  the  Edition  of  1817,  p.  29.) 

I  was  not  a  little  surprised,  and 

Keimer  stared  with  astonishment 

(Edition  of  1S17,  p.  33.) 
But  during  my  absence  he  had  ac- 
quired a  habit  of  drinking  of  bran- 
dy; and  I  found  by  his  own  account 
as  well  as  that  of  others,  that  he  had 
been  drunk  every  day  since  his 
arrival  at  New  York,  and  behaved 
himself  in  a  very  extravagant  man- 


loed  that  they  should  fetch  us,  but 
they  either  did  not  understand  us 
or  thought  it  impracticable,  so  they 
went  away,  and  night  coming  on, 
we  had  no  remedy  but  to  wait  till 
the  wind  should  abate ;  and,in  the 
meantime,  the  boatman  and  /con- 
cluded to  sleep  if  we  could ;  and  so 
crowded  into  the  scuttle  with  the 
Dutchman  who  was  still  wet,  and 
the  spray  beating  over  the  head  of 
our  boat,  etc 

(From  the  Autograph,  p.  34.) 
I  was  not  a  little  surprised,  and 
Keimer  stared  like  a  pig  poisoned. 

(From  the  Autograph,  p.  39.) 
But  during  my  absence  he  had 
acquired  a  habit  of  sotting  with 
brandy;  and  I  found  by  his  own 
account  and  what'  I  heard  from 
others,  that  he  had  been  drunk 
every  day  since  his  arrival  at  New 
York,  and  behaved  very  oddly. 


The  Governor  received  me  with 
great  civility,  showed  me  his  libra- 
ry, which  was  a  considerable  one,  and 
we  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation 
relative  to  books  and  authors. 
****** 
Collins  wished  to  be  employed  in 
some  counting  house,  but  whether 
they  discovered  his  dram  drinking 
by  his  breath,  or,  etc 

(Edition  181 7,  p.  34.) 
The  violation  of  my  trust  respect- 
ing VernonJs  money  was,  etc 

3  I 


The  Governor  treated  me  with 
great  civility,  showed  me  his  libra- 
ry, which  was  a  very  large  one,  and 
we  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation 
about  books  and  authors. 

****** 
Collins  wished  to  be  employed  in 
some  counting  house,  but  whether 
they  discovered  his  dramming  by 
his  breath,  or,  etc 

(Autograph,  p.  40.) 
The  breaking  into  this  money  ^ 
Vernon's,  was,  etc 


26 

{Edition  1817,/.  47.)  {Autograph,  p.  53.) 

I  drank   only  water,  the   other  I  drank  only  water,  the   othel 

workmen,  near    fifty   in    number,  workmen,   near   fifty   in   number, 

were  great  drinkers  of  beer.  were  great  guzzlers  of  beer. 

{Edition  1817,  p.  55.)  {Autograph,  p.  62.) 
At  length,  receiving  his  quar-  At  length,  receiving  his  quar- 
terly allowance  of  fifteen  guineas,  terly  allowance  of  fifteen  guineas, 
instead  of  discharging  his  debts  he  instead  of  discharging  his  debts  he 
went  out  of  town,  hid  his  gown  in  walked  out  of  town,  hid  his  gown 
a  furze  bush  and  walked  to  London,  in  a  furze  bush,  and  footed  it  to 

London. 

By  whom  were  these  changes  made  in  the  text  of  this 
manuscript  ? 

How  came  the  closing  pages  to  be  overlooked  ? 

Why  was  the  publication  which  purported  to  be  made 
from  the  manuscript  deferred  for  twenty-seven  years  after 
their  author's  death  ? 

How  happened  it  that  this  posthumous  work  which 
may  be  read  in  nearly  every  written  language  and  is  one 
of  the  half-dozen  most  widely  popular  books  ever  printed, 
should  have  filled  the  book-marts  of  the  world  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  without  having  ever  been  verified  by  the 
original  manuscript? 

I  doubt  if  it  will  ever  be  possible  to  determine  all  these 
questions  with  absolute  certainty ;  but  I  propose  to  lay 
before  the  reader  such  information  as  I  have  been  able 
to  glean  from  a  variety  of  sources,  both  published  and 
unpublished,  leaving  him  to  draw  from  them  such  con- 
clusions as  he  thinks  the  testimony  will  warrant.  The 
array  which  I  shall  make,  if  it  do  not  settle  all  these 
questions,  may  lead,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  to  the  production 
of  latent  testimony  that  will. 


2/ 


II. 


Dr.  Franklin  informs  us,  in  the  very  first  paragraph  of 
his  Memoirs,  that  he  had  undertaken  to  prepare  them  for 
the  edification  of  his  family.  The  first  eighty-seven  pages 
of  the  MS.,  which  embrace  the  first  twenty-five  years  of 
his  life  down  to  his  marriage,  appear  to  have  been  written 
in  1771,  during  one  of  his  visits  to  Twyford,  the  country- 
seat  of  Dr.  Shipley,  then  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  and  with- 
out any  view  to  publication.* 

The  MS.  of  this  part  was  shown  to  some  of  his  friends, 
among  others  to  Mr.  Benjamin  Vaughan,  Mr.  Abel  James, 
and  to  M.  le  Veillard,  who  were  all  so  pleased  with  it 
that  they  urged  him  to  resume  and  publish  them.  He 
was  persuaded  to  do  so,  and  in  1784,  while  residing  at 
Passy,  then  a  suburb  of  Paris,  wrote  the  succeeding  pages 
of  the  MS.  to  page  104.  The  part  written  in  England 
was  followed  with  this  memorandum,  written,  doubtless, 
when  he  revised  the  Memoirs  in  1789 : 

"  Mem. — Thus  far  was  written  with  the  intention  ex- 
pressed in  the  beginning,  and  therefore  contains  several 
little  family  anecdotes  of  no  importance  to  others.  What 
follows  was  written  many  years  after,  and  in  compliance 
with  the  advice  contained  in  these  letters,f  and  accord- 


*  "Expecting,"  he  says,  "a  week's  uninterrupted  leisure  in  my  present 
country  retirement,  I  sit  down  to  write  them  for  you."  The  MS.  shows 
that  he  had  originally  written  it  "  for  your  perusal."  "  Perusal"  was 
afterward  stricken  out,  and  "  use"  written  after  it  This  word  was  also 
stricken  out,  and  the  phrase  left  as  in  the  text.  The  editor  of  the  edition 
of  181 7  strikes  out  the  words  "to  you"  also. 

t  The  letters  here  referred  to  are  from  Messrs.  Vaughan  and  James, 
and  will  be  found  in  their  proper  place. 


28 

ingly  intended  for  the  public.     The  affairs  of  the  Revo- 
lution occasioned  the  interruption." 

Another  reason  for  continuing  his  Memoirs,  and  giving 
them  to  the  press,  has  been  assigned  by  M.  Castera,  who 
published  a  French  edition  of  some  of  Franklin's  works 
in  1798.*  He  attributes  the  Autobiography  to  a  desire  on 
the  part  of  Franklin  and  his  French  friends  to  neutralize 
the  pernicious  influence  of  Rousseau's  Confessions,  which, 
during  the  latter  part  of  Franklin's  residence  in  Paris, 
were  the  topic  of  every  salon.  These  friends  thought  that 
it  would  be  curious  to  compare  the  history  of  a  writer 
who  seemed  to  have  used  his  brilliant  imagination  merely 
to  render  himself  miserable,  with  that  of  a  philosopher 
who  employed  all  the  resources  of  an  equally  gifted  intel- 
lect to  assure  his  own  happiness  by  contributing  to  the 
happiness  of  others. 


*  Vie  de  Franklin,  ^crite  par  lui-meme,  suivie  de  ses  GEuvres  morales, 
politiques  et  litteraires,  dont  la  plus  grande  partie  n'avait  pas  encore  ete 
publiee. — Traduit  de  l'Anglais,  avec  des  notes  par  J.  Castera.  Eripuit 
Ccelo  fulmen,  Sceptrumque  tyrannis.  Paris,  chez  F.  Buisson,  Imp.  Lib., 
Rue  Hautefeuille,  No.  20,  an  vi.  de  la  Republique,  1798.  In  his  preface 
confounding  Mr.  Benjamin  Franklin  Bache  with  William  Temple 
Franklin,  who  was  the  Doctor's  literary  executor  and  custodian  of  his 
unpublished  manuscripts,  Mr.  Castera  says  :  "  It  is  not  known  why  Mr. 
Benjamin  Franklin  Bache,  who  has  them  (the  MS.  memoirs)  in  his  pos- 
session, and  is  now  residing  in  London,  keeps  them  so  long  from  the 
public.  The  works  of  a  great  man  belong  less  to  his  heirs  than  to  the 
human  race."  It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  the  copy  of  the  Me- 
moirs given  in  this  collection  of  Castera  was  translated  from  an  English 
edition,  which  was  itself  only  a  translation  from  the  first  French  trans- 
lation, thus  removed  by  three  translations  from  the  original.  "  A  part 
of  the  life  of  Franklin,"  says  Mr.  Castera,  "has  already  been  translated 
into  French  and  in  a  sufficiently  careful  manner.  Notwithstanding,  I 
have  dared  to  translate  it  anew." 


29 

A  comparison  of  dates  will  show  that  M.  Castera  s 
theory  was  purely  imaginary. 

*  *  *  The  self-torturing  sophist,  wild  Rousseau, 
The  apostle  of  affliction,  *  *  * 

wrote  the  first  part  of  his  Confessions  during  his  residence 
in  England  in  the  years  1766  and  1767.  The  second  was 
composed  in  Dauphiny  and  at  Trye  in  the  years  1768  and 
1770.  It  was  his  intention  that  they  should  not  be  printed 
until  1800,  presuming  that  by  that  time  all  who  figured 
in  them  would  have  ceased  to  live ;  but  the  period  he  had 
fixed  for  their  publication  was  anticipated.  The  first  part 
was  printed  in  1781,  and  the  second  in  1788.  It  is  not 
likely  that  Franklin  or  any  of  his  friends  knew  anything 
of  them  till  the  first  part  was  published  in  1781,  and  all 
of  Franklin's  Memoirs  thrt  O.stera  published  or  knew 
anything  of  had  been  written  ten  years  before. 

The  Doctor  returned  to  the  United  States  in  the  summer 
of  1785.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  received  a  note  from 
his  friend,  Mr.  Edward  Bancroft,  the  tenor  of  which  is 
sufficiently  explained  in  the  following  extract  from  the 
Doctor's  reply : 

"Philadelphia,  26th  November,  1785. 
"  Dear  Sir  : 

11 1  received  your  kind  letter  of  September  5th,  inform 
ing  me  of  the  intention  Mr.  Dilly  has  of  printing  a  new 
edition  of  my  writings,  and  of  his  desire  that  I  would 
furnish  him  with  such  additions  as  I  may  think  proper. 
At  present  all  my  papers  and  manuscripts  are  so  mixed 
with  other  things,  by  the  confusions  occasioned  in  sudden 
and  various  removals  during  the  late  troubles,  that  I  can 
hardly  find    anything.     But   having   nearly  finished   an 


30 

addition  to  my  house,  which  will  afford  me  room  to  puf 
all  in  order,  I  hope  ^oon  to  be  able  to  comply  with  such 
a  request  ;  but  I  hope  Mr.  Dilly  will  have  a  good  under- 
standing in  the  affair  with  Henry  &  Johnson,  who,  having 
risked  the  former  impressions,  may  suppose  they  thereby 
acquired  some  right  in  the  copy.  As  to  the  Life  pro- 
posed to  be  written,  if  it  be  by  the  same  hand  who  fur- 
nished a  sketch  to  Dr.  Lettsom,  which  he  sent  me,  I  am 
afraid  it  will  be  found  too  full  of  errors  for  either  you  or 
me  to  correct ;  and  having  been  persuaded  by  my  friends, 
Messrs.  Vaughan  and  M.  le  Veillard,  Mr.  James,  of  this 
place,  and  some  others,  that  such  a  Life  written  by  myself 
may  be  useful  to  the  rising  generation,  I  have  made  some 
progress  in  it,  and  hope  to  finish  it  this  winter ;  so  I 
cannot  but  wish  that  project  of  Mr.  Dilly's  biographer 
may  be  laid  aside.  I  am  nevertheless  thankful  to  you  for 
your  friendly  offer  of  correcting  it.*       ***** 

The  Doctor's  hopes  of  completing  the  Memoirs  during 
the  winter  of  1785  were  not  realized,  nor  did  he  resume 
work  upon  them  until  three  years  later. 

"  As  to  the  little  history  I  promised  you,"  he  writes  to 
his  friend,  Le  Veillard,  the  15th  April,  1787,  "my  pur- 
pose still  continues  of  completing  it,  and  I  hoped  to  do 
it  this  summer,  having  built  an  addition  to  my  house,  in 
which  I  have  placed  my  library,  and  where  I  can  write 
without  being  disturbed  by  the  noise  of  the  children ;  but 


*  The  only  letter  we  have  from  M.  le  Veillard  bears  date,  Passy, 
Oct.  9,  1785.  He  says,  in  allusion  to  this  subject:  "  I  hope  you  have 
been  industrious  during  your  passage,  and  that  you  have  finished  yom 
Memoirs,  and  will  send  them  to  me." 


31 

the  General  Assembly  having  lately  desired  my  assistance 
at  a  great  convention  to  be  held  in  May  next  for  amending 
the  Federal  Constitution,  I  begin  to  doubt  whether  I  can 
make  any  progress  in  it  till  that  business  is  over."  * 

In  the  same  letter  he  adds  farther  on  : 

"You  blame  me  for  writing  three  pamphlets  and  ne- 
glecting to  write  the  little  history :  you  should  consider 
they  were  written  at  sea,  out  of  my  own  head  ;  the  other 
could  not  so  well  be  written  there  for  want  of  the  docu- 
ments that  could  only  be  had  here." 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1788,^  the  Doctor  writes  to  M. 
le  Veillard  as  follows  : 

"  I  have  been  much  afflicted  the  last  summer  with  a 
long-continued  fit  of  the  gout,  which  I  am  not  quite  clear 
of,  though  much  better ;  my  other  malady  is  not  aug 
mented.  I  have  lately  made  great  progress  ir  the  work 
you  so  urgently  demand,  and  have  come  as  far  as  my  fif- 
tieth year.  Being  now  free  from  public  business,  as  my 
term  in  the  Presidentship  is  expired,  and  resolving  to 
engage  in  no  other  public  employment,  I  expect  to  have 
it  finished  in  about  two  months,  if  illness  or  some  unfore- 
seen interruption  does  not  prevent.  I  do  not,  therefore, 
send  a  part  at  this  time,  thinking  it  better  to  retain  the 
whole  till  I  can  view  it  all  together,  and  make  the  proper 
corrections." 

William  Temple  Franklin  also  writes  on  the  17th  of 
November,  1788: 

"  Our  new  government  goes  on   in  its  way.     Many 


*  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 
t  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 


3^ 

States  have  elected  their  Senators.  The  people  are  soon 
to  elect  their  representatives.  It  is  in  March  next  they 
should  meet.  There  is  but  one  voice  for  the  President- 
General,  the  illustrious  Washington.  In  respect  to  the 
Vice  President,  opinions  are  shared  between  General 
Knox,  Messrs.  Hancock,  Adams,  &c.  My  grandfather 
having  served  the  three  years  as  President  of  this  State, 
Genl.  Mifflin  has  been  elected  in  his  place.  My  grand- 
father now  calls  himself  a  free  man,  and  I  believe  it 
would  be  difficult  to  induce  him  to  change  his  condition. 
No  one  could  more  enjoy  his  liberty  and  repose.  He  is 
now  occupied  in  writing  the  continuation  of  his  life,  which 
you  have  so  urgently  desired  of  him.  His  health  improves 
every  day.  Farewell,  my  friend.  Recall  me  to  the  recol- 
lection of  all  our  common  friends,  and  say  a  thousand 
tender  things  to  all  your  family.     I  write  to  your  son. 

"  W.  T.  F."* 

In  three  other  letters  to  M.  le  Veillard,  written  during 
the  year  1788,  Dr.  Franklin  alludes  to  his  promise  and 
his  reasons  for  not  having  hitherto  been  able  to  keep  it. 
Under  date  of  February  17,  1788,  he  writes: 

"  I  should  have  proceeded  in  the  history  you  mention, 
if  I  could  well  have  avoided  accepting  the  chair  of  Presi- 
dent for  this  third  and  last  year ;  to  which  I  was  again 
elected  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Council  and 
General  Assembly  in  November.  If  I  live  to  see  this 
year  expire,  I  may  enjoy  some  leisure,  which  I  promise 
you  to  employ  in  the  work  you  do  me  the  honor  to  urge 
so  earnestly."! 


*  Le  Veillard  Collection, 
t  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 


33 

Scarcely  two  months  later,  and  under  date  of  April 
22,*  he  writes  again  : 

"  I  received  but  a  few  days  since  your  favor  of  Nov. 
30,  17S7,  in  which  you  continue  to  urge  me  to  finish  th^ 
Memoirs.  My  three  years  of  service  will  expire  in  Octo- 
ber, when  a  new  President  must  be  chosen,  and  I  had  the 
project  of  retiring  then  to  my  grandson's  estate,  in  New 
Jersey,  where  I  might  be  free  from  the  interruption  of 
visits,  in  order  to  complete  that  work  for  your  satisfaction  ; 
for  in  this  city  my  time  is  so  cut  to  pieces  by  friends  and 
strangers,  that  I  have  sometimes  envied  the  prisoners  in 
Bastille.  But  considering  now  the  little  remnant  of  life  I 
have  left,  the  accidents  that  may  happen  between  this  and 
October,  and  your  earnest  desire,  I  have  come  to  the  reso- 
lution to  proceed  in  that  work  to-morrow,  and  continue  it 
daily  till  finished,  which,  if  my  health  permits,  may  be  in 
the  course  of  the  ensuing  summer.  As  it  goes  on  I  will 
have  a  copy  made  for  you,  and  you  may  expect  to  receive 
a  part  by  the  next  packet." 

About  six  weeks  after  the  foregoing,  and  under  date  of 
June  6,  he  writes  again  : 

"  Eight  States  have  now  agreed  to  the  proposed  new 
Constitution  ;  there  remain  live  who  have  not  yet  dis- 
cussed it,  their  appointed  times  of  meeting  not  having 
yet  arrived.  Two  are  to  meet  this  month  ;  the  rest  later. 
One  more  agreeing,  it  will  be  carried  into  execution. 
Probably  some  will  not  agree  at  present,  but  time  may 
bring  them  in  ;  so  that  we  have  little  doubt  of  its  be- 
coming general,  perhaps  with  some  corrections.  As  to 
your  friend's  taking  a  share  in  the  management  of  it ;  his 


*  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 

R* 


34 

age  and  infirmities  render  him  unfit  for  the  business,  aa 
the  business  would  be  for  him.  After  the  expiration  of 
the  term  of  his  Presidentship,  which  will  now  be  in  a  few 
months,  he  is  determined  to  engage  no  more  in  public 
affairs  even  if  required ;  but  his  countrymen  will  be  too 
reasonable  to  require  it.  You  are  not  so  considerate. 
You  are  a  hard  taskmaster.  You  insist  on  his  writing  his 
life,  already  a  long  work,  and  at  the  same  time  would 
have  him  continually  employed  in  augmenting  the  sub- 
ject, while  the  term  shortens  in  which  the  work  is  to  be 
executed."* 

The  Doctor  did  resume  the  Memoirs  in  1788,  and 
probably  wrote  about  this  time  all  of  the  remainder  that 
has  hitherto  been  published  in  English.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, from  the  following  passage  in  a  letter  to  M.  le 
Veillard,  dated  September  5,  1789,  that  he  had  then 
abandoned  all  hope  of  completing  the  Memoirs,  and  was 
making  arrangements  to  transmit  a  copy  of  what  was 
done,  to  M.  le  Veillard  and  to  Mr.  Vaughan.  Whether 
he  intended  one  for  each  or  for  both  is  not  quite  certain  : 

"  I  hope  you  have  perfectly  recovered  of  your  fall  at 
Madame  Helvetius's,  and  that  you  now  enjoy  perfect 
health  ;  as  to  mine,  I  can  give  you  no  good  account.  I 
have  a  long  time  been  afflicted  with  almost  constant  and 
grievous  pain,  to  combat  which  I  have  been  obliged  to 
have  recourse  to  opium,  which  indeed  has  afforded  me 
some  ease  from  time  to  time,  but  then  it  has  taken  away 
my  appetite,  and  so  impeded  my  digestion  that  I  am 
become  totally  emaciated,  and  little  remains  of  me  but  a 
skeleton  covered  with  a  skin.     In  this  situation,  I  have 


See  this  date,  infra,  v  »1.  iii. 


35 

not  been  able  to  continue  my  Memoirs,  and  now  I  sup- 
pose I  shall  never  finish  them.  Benjamin  has  made  a 
copy  of  what  is  done  for  you,  which  shall  be  sent  by  the 
first  safe  opportunity."* 

Shortly  before  this  letter  was  written — on  the  3d  of 
June  of  that  year — the  Doctor  wrote  to  his  friend 
Vaughan,  who,  it  appears,  had  been  urging  him  to  go  on 
with  the  Memoirs : 

u  I  received  your  kind  letter  of  March  4th,  and  wish  I 
may  be  able  to  complete  what  you  so  earnestly  desire — 
the  Memoirs  of  my  life.  But  of  late  I  am  so  interrupted 
by  extreme  pain,  which  obliges  me  to  have  recourse  to 
opium,  that,  between  the  effects  of  both,  I  have  but  little 
time  in  which  I  can  write  anything.  My  grandson,  how- 
ever, is  copying  what  is  done,  which  will  be  sent  to  you 
for  your  opinion  by  the  next  vessel ;  and  not  merely  for 
your  opinion,  but  for  your  advice  ;  for  it  is  a  difficult  task 
to  speak  decently  and  properly  of  one's  own  conduct; 
and  I  feel  the  want  of  a  judicious  friend  to  encourage  me 
in  scratching  out."  f 

On  the  2d  of  November  he  wrrites  again  to  Mr. 
Vaughan  in  the  same  desponding  strain  of  his  health, 
though  still  more  hopeful  of  continuing  the  Memoirs 
than  he  appeared  when  he  wrote  the  letter  last  cited  to 
M,  le  Veillard : 

u  I  thank  you  much  for  your  intimations  of  the  virtues 
of  hemlock  ;  but  I  have  tried  so  many  things  with  so  little 
effect  that  I  am  quite  discouraged,  and  have  no  longer 
any  faith  in  remedies  for  the  stone.    The  palliating  system 


*  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 
t  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 


36 

is  what  I  am  now  fixed  in.  Opium  gives  me  ease  when 
I  am  attacked  by  pain,  and  by  the  use  of  it  I  still  make 
life  tolerable.  Not  being  able,  however,  to  bear  sitting  to 
write,  I  now  make  use  of  the  hand  of  one  of  my  grand- 
sons, dictating  to  him  from  my  bed.  I  wish,  indeed,  T 
had  tried  this  method  sooner ;  for  so  I  think  I  might  by 
this  time  have  finished  my  Memoirs,  in  which  I  have 
made  no  progress  for  these  six  months  past.  I  have  now 
taken  the  resolution  to  endeavor* completing  them  in  this 
way  of  dictating  to  an  amanuensis.  What  is  already 
done  I  now  send  you,  with  an  earnest  request  that  you 
and  my  good  friend,  Dr.  Price,  would  be  so  good  as  to 
take  the  trouble  of  reading  it,  critically  examining  it,  and 
giving  me  your  candid  opinion  whether  I  had  best  pub- 
lish or  suppress  it ;  and  if  the  first,  then  what  parts  had 
best  be  expunged  or  altered.  I  shall  rely  upon  your 
opinions  ;  for  I  am  now  grown  so  old  and  feeble  in  mind, 
as  well  as  body,  that  I  cannot  place  any  confidence  in  my 
own  judgment.  In  the  mean  time,  I  desire  and  expect 
that  you  will  not  suffer  any  copy  of  it,  or  of  any  part  of  it, 
to  be  taken  for  any  purpose  whatever."* 

The  only  evidence,  beyond  the  promise  contained  in 
his  letter  of  the  3d  of  June,  that  the  Doctor  sent  a  copy 
of  his  Memoirs  to  Mr.  Vaughan,  is  a  statement  made  by 
the  Due  de  la  Rochefoucault  in  an  eminently  discrimi- 
nating and  cordial  eulogium  which  he  pronounced  before 
a  society  in  Paris  on  the  13th  of  June,  1789;  two  years 
before  the  Doctor's  death.     In  this  discourse  he  says: 

"  The  most  voluminous  of  his  works  is  the  history  of 


*  See  this  date,  infra,  vol.  iii. 


37 

his  own  life,  which  he  commenced  for  the  use  of  his  son, 
and  for  the  continuation  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  the 
ardent  solicitations  of  Monsieur  le  Veillard,  one  of  his 
most  intimate  friends.  It  employed  his  leisure  hours 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  ;  but  the  bad  state  of  his 
health  and  his  excruciating  pains,  which  gave  him  little 
respite,  frequently  interrupted  his  work ;  and  the  two 
copies — one  of  which  was  sent  by  him  to  London,  to  Dr. 
Price  and  Mr.  Vaughan,  and  the  other  to  Monsieur  le 
Veillard  and  me — reach  no  farther  than  the  year  1757. 
He  speaks  of  himself  as  he  would  have  done  of  another 
person,  delineating  his  thoughts,  his  actions,  and  even  his 
errors  and  faults ;  and  he  describes  the  unfolding  of  his 
genius  and  talents  with  the  simplicity  of  a  great  man, 
who  knows  how  to  do  justice  to  himself,  and  with  the 
testimony  of  a   clear  conscience,  void  of  reproach   and 

*  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward  man.'         *  * 

******* 

His  Memoirs,  gentlemen,  will  be  published  as  soon  as  we 
receive  from  America  the  additions  he  may  have  made  to 
the  manuscript  in  our  possession  ;  and  we  then  intend  to 
give  a  complete  collection  of  his  works." 

The  Duke  had  evidently  derived  his  information  in 
regard  to  the  Memoirs  exclusively  from  the  letter  last 
cited  to  M.  le  Veillard. 

The  Doctor  died  in  a  little  less  than  six  months  aftei 
his  letter  of  the  2d  of  November  to  Mr.  Vaughan.  By  his 
will,  made  in  the  summer  of  1788,  he  bequeathed  his  books, 
manuscripts,  and  papers,  after  deducting  a  few  special  be- 
quests, to  his  grandson,  William  Temple  Franklin.  Among 
the  manuscripts  was  the  original  text  of  these  Memoirs. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  Wm.  Temple  wrote  M.  le  Veil- 


38 

lard,  announcing  his  grandfather's  death  and  the  interest 
he  had  acquired  in  the  Memoirs,  which  might  be  said  to 
have  owed  their  existence  to  M.  le  Veillard's  perti- 
nacity ;  his  intention  to  prepare  them  for  publication,  and 
requesting  M.  le  Veillard  to  show  them  to  no  one  unless 
to  the  Academician  who  should  be  charged  to  make  the 
eulogy  of  the  deceased,  and  to  permit  no  one  to  take  a 
copy  of  what  had  been  sent  him.  He  adds  that  he  him- 
self has  the  original.    This  letter  was  written  in  French 

"  Philadelphia,  22  May,  1 790.* 
u  You  have  already  learned,  my  dear  friend,  the  loss 
which  you  and  I,  and  the  world,  have  experienced,  in  the 
death  of  this  good  and  amiable  papa.  Although  we  have 
long  expected  it,  we  were  none  the  less  shocked  by  it 
when  it  arrived.  He  loved  you  very  tenderly,  as  he  did 
all  your  family,  and  I  do  not  doubt  you  will  share  my  just 
sorrow.  I  intended  writing  you  the  details  of  his  death 
by  M.  de  Chaumont,  but  the  duty  of  arranging  his 
affairs,  and  especially  his  papers,  prevents  my  answering 
your  last,  as  well  as  the  one  which  your  daughter  was 
pleased  to  write  me,  accompanying  her  work.  I  have 
been  touched  with  this  mark  of  her  condescension  and 
friendship,  and  I  beg  you  to  testify  to  her  my  gratitude 
until  I  have  an  opportunity  of  writing  to  her,  which  will 
certainly  be  by  the  first  occasion  for  France.  Now,  as  I 
am  about  writing,  her  goodness  will  awaken  me.  This 
letter  will  reach  you  by  way  of  England. 

"  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  profit  by  this  occasion  to  inform 
you  that  my  grandfather,  among  other  legacies,  has  left 
all  his  papers  and  manuscripts  to  me,  with  permission  to 


For  the  original  see  vol.  iii.  p.  465. 


39 

turn  them  to  what  profit  I  can.  Consequently,  I  beg  you, 
my  dear  friend,  to  show  to  no  one  that  part  of  his  Life 
which  he  sent  you  some  time  since,  lest  some  one  copy 
and  publish  it,  which  would  infinitely  prejudice  the  pub- 
lication which  I  propose  to  make  as  soon  as  possible,  of 
his  entire  Life  and  of  his  other  works.  As  I  have  the 
original  here  of  the  part  which  you  have,  it  will  not  be 
necessary  for  you  to  send  it  to  me,  but  I  beg  you  at  all 
events  to  put  it  in  an  envelope,  well  sealed,  addressed  to 
me,  in  order  that  by  no  accident  it  may  get  into  other 
hands. 

"  If,  however,  it  should  be  necessary  to  assist  the  person 
who  will  pronounce  his  eulogy  at  the  Academy,  you  may 
lend  it  for  that  purpose,  with  the  stipulation  that  no  copy 
of  it  shall  be  made,  and  with  such  other  precautions  as 
you  deem  necessary.  The  foreign  representatives  of  our 
Government  have  not  yet  been  named.  It  is  possible  I 
may  be  one,  which  would  put  me  in  the  way  to  assist  in 
the  publication  of  my  grandfather's  works ;  but  even  if 
they  think  no  more  of  me,  it  is  very  probable  that  I  shall 
conclude  to  go  to  Europe,  inasmuch  as  I  am  persuaded  I 
can  derive  more  advantage  from  the  publication  in  Eng- 
land or  in  France  than  in  this  country. 

"  Adieu  for  the  present.  In  two  or  three  weeks  I  hope 
to  be  able  to  write  to  you  directly,  as  well  as  to  my  other 
friends,  male  and  female,  in  France.  Love  me,  my  dear 
friend.     I  have  more  need  than  ever  of  your  friendship. 

"W.  T.  Franklin." 

In  the  course  of  a  few  months  after  this  letter  was 
written,  William  Temple  Franklin  arrived  in  London, 
where  he  pretended  to  be  engaged  in  preparing  an  edition 


40 

of  the  Life  and  works  of  his  grandfather,  which  he  then 
expected  to  have  ready  in  the  course  of  the  year.  But  it 
was  ordained  that  this  pre-eminently  American  work 
should  be  first  presented  to  the  world  in  a  foreign  tongue. 
A  French  translation  appeared  at  Paris  in  1791.*  It  em- 
braced only  the  first  eighty-seven  pages  of  the  manuscript. 
In  his  preface  the  editor  seems  to  question  the  good  faith 
of  William  Temple's  promise  to  publish  the  Memoirs 
entire.  As  this  preface  is  not  readily  accessible,  and  as  it 
constitutes  an  important  link  in  the  history  of  this  manu- 
script, I  need  offer  no  apology  for  giving  it  entire : 

"  I  shall  not  enter  into  an  uninteresting  detail  relative 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  original  manuscript  of  these 
Memoirs,  which  are  written  in  the  English  language, 
came  into  my  possession.  They  appeared  to  me  to  be  so 
interesting  that  I  did  not  hesitate  a  single  moment  to 
translate  them  into  French. 

"  The  name  of  Franklin  will  undoubtedly  become  a 
passport  to  a  work  of  this  nature,  and  the  character  of 
truth  and  simplicity  discernible  in  every  page  must  guar- 
antee its  authenticity.  I  have  no  manner  of  occasion  to 
join  other  testimonies. 

"  If,  however,  any  critic  chooses  to  disbelieve  my  asser- 
tion, and  is  desirous  to  bring  the  existence  of  the  original 
manuscript  into  doubt,  I  am  ready  to  verify  it  by  means 
of  an   immediate  impression  ;f  but  as  I  am  not  certain 


*  Memoires  de  la  vie  priv^e  de  Benjamin  Franklin,  ecrits  par  lui- 
menie  et  adresses  a  son  fils,  suivis  d'un  precis  historique  de  sa  vie 
politique,  et  de  plusieurs  pieces  relatives  a  ce  pere  de  la  liberte.  A 
Paris,  chez  Buisson,  Libraire,  Rue  Hautefeuille,  No.  20.   1791. 

f  "  Those  who  may  be  desirous  of  reading  the  Memoirs  of  the  public 
life  of  Franklin  in  the  original  are  requested  to  leave  their  names  with 
Buisson,  bookseller,  Rue  Hautefeuille,  No.  20.     The  work  will  be  sent 


41 

of  the  sale  of  a  work  written  in  a  foreign  language,  I 
cannot  publish  it  in  any  other  manner  than  by  means  of  a 
sunscnption  large  enough  to  indemnify  me  for  the  money 
advanced. 

"  That  part  of  the  Memoirs  of  Franklin  in  my  posses- 
sion includes  no  more  than  the  first  period  of  a  life,  the 
remainder  of  which  has  become  illustrious  by  events  of 
the  highest  importance  ;  it  terminates  at  the  epoch  when, 
after  having  married,  he  began  to  render  himself  cele- 
brated by  plans  and  establishments  of  public  utility. 

"It  is  very  possible  that  he  may  have  written  more  of 
his  history ;  for  the  portion  of  it  which  I  now  present  to 
the  public  concludes,  according  to  his  own  account,  with 
the  year  1771.* 

u  If  this  be  the  case,  the  heirs  of  that  great  man  will 
not  fail  some  day  to  publish  it,  either  in  England  or  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  we  shall  doubtless  have  a  French  trans- 
lation, which  will  be  received  by  the  public  with  great 
eagerness ;  but  I  am  persuaded  that  his  family  will  not 
disclose  any  other  than  the  most  brilliant  period  of  his 
life — that  which  is  connected  with  the  memorable  part  he 
acted  in  the  world,  both  as  a  philosopher  and  a  statesman. 
They  will  never  be  prevailed  upon  to  narrate  the  humble 
details  of  his  early  days  and  the  simple  but  interesting 
anecdotes  of  his  origin,  the  obscurity  of  which,  although 
it  enhances  the  talents  and  the  virtues  of  this  great  man, 
may  yet  wound  their  own  vanity. 


to  the  press  as  soon  as  there  are  400  subscribers.     The  price  is  48  sols 
(or  cents)." 

*  This  date  is  erroneous.     Dr.  Franklin  commenced  writing  his  Me- 
moirs in  1 771,  but  in  the  portion  of  his  Memoirs  published  in  1791  he 
did  not  bring  down  the  narrative  of  his  life  beyond  the  year  1757. 
4* 


42 

•'  If  my  conjecture  prove  right ;  if  the  Memoirs  which 
they  are  about  to  publish  under  the  name  of  Franklin 
should  be  mutilated ;  if  the  first  part,  so  essential  to  read- 
ers capable  of  feeling  and  judging,  should  be  suppressed, 
T  shall  applaud  myself  for  having  preserved  it;  and  the 
world  will  be  obliged  to  me  for  having  enabled  them  to 
follow  the  early  developments  of  the  genius,  and  the  first 
exertions  of  the  sublime  and  profound  mind  of  a  man  who 
afterward  penetrated  the  mystery  of  electricity  and  dis- 
covered the  secret  measures  of  despotism — who  preserved 
the  universe  from  the  ravages  of  thunder,  and  his  native 
country  from  the  horrors  of  tyranny ! 

"  If  I  am  accidentally  mistaken,  if  the  life  of  Franklin 
should  appear  entire,  the  public  will  still  have  the  advan- 
tage of  anticipating  the  interesting  part  of  a  history  which 
it  has  long  and  impatiently  expected. 

"  The  principal  object  proposed  by  the  American  phi- 
losopher in  writing  these  Memoirs  was,  to  instruct  pos- 
terity and  amuse  his  own  leisure  hours.  He  has  permitted 
his  ideas  to  flow  at  the  will  of  his  memory  and  his  heart, 
without  ever  making  any  effort  to  disguise  the  truth,  not- 
withstanding it  is  not  always  very  flattering  to  his  self- 
love — but  I  here  stop  ;  it  belongs  to  Franklin  to  speak  for 
himself. 

"  It  will  be  easily  perceived  that  I  have  preserved  as 
much  as  possible  the  ease  and  simplicity  of  his  style  in 
my  translation.  I  have  not  even  affected  to  correct  the 
negligence  of  his  language,  or  to  clothe  his  sentiments 
with  a  gaudy  dress,  for  which  they  have  no  manner  of 
occasion  ;  I  should  have  been  afraid  of  bereaving  the  work 
of  one  of  its  principal  ornaments. 

"As  these  Memoirs  reach  no  farther  than  his  marriasre, 


43 

I  have  made  use  of  other  materials  in  order  to  complete 
so  interesting  a  history,  and  I  have  also  added  a  numbei 
of  anecdotes  and  remarks  relative  to  this  philosophical 
American.  The  Editor." 

Querard*  attributes  this  translation  to  a  Dr.  Jacques 
Gibelin,  who,  it  appears,  was  a  naturalist  of  some  repute  ; 
had  been  occasionally  in  England ;  had  translated  from 


*  Querard,  La  France  Littiraire. 

M.  de  Senarmont  seems  to  have  been  under  the  impression  that  this 
translation  was  made  by  M.  le  Veillard.  This  M.  le  Veillard  himself 
most  distinctly  denied  in  a  note  which  he  communicated  to  the  "  Journal 
de  Paris,"  in  1791,  No.  83,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  : 

"  Passy,  near  Paris,  21st  March,  1791. 

"  Shortly  before  his  death,  Mr.  Franklin  sent  me  the  Memoirs  of  his 
life,  written  by  himself,  and  I  have  only  deferred  the  publication  of  them 
out  of  respect  for  his  family,  and  especially  for  Wm.  Temple  Franklin, 
his  grandson,  to  whom  his  grandfather  has  left  all  his  manuscripts.  lie 
proposes  to  make  a  complete  edition,  as  well  in  French  as  in  English, 
in  which  he  will  insert  my  translation.  He  is  now  in  England,  occu- 
pied with  this  work,  and  is  expected  in  France,  in  a  few  days,  to  com- 
plete it 

"  Buisson,  a  bookseller  in  the  Rue  Hautefeuille,  has  published  a 
volume  in  8vo.,  entitled  Memoires  de  la  Vie  Privee  de  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Scrits  par  lui-mime  et  adressh  h  son  fils.  The  first  156  pages  of  this 
volume  contain  in  effect  the  commencement  of  the  Memoirs  of  Dr. 
Franklin,  almost  entirely  conforming  to  the  manuscript  which  I  possess. 
1  do  not  know  by  what  means  the  translator  has  procured  them,  but  I 
declare  and  think  it  ought  to  be  known  that  he  did  not  have  them  from 
me ;  that  I  had  no  part  in  the  translation ;  that  this  fragment,  which 
ends  in  1730,  is  scarcely  a  third  of  what  I  have,  which  only  comes  down 
to  1757,  and  which  consequently  does  not  terminate  this  work,  the  re- 
maindei  of  which  is  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  W.  T.  Franklin,  who  will  plan 
his  edition  so  that  the  complete  Memoirs  of  Franklin  will  form  one  or 
rwc  volumes,  which  may  be  obtained  separately. 

"Le  Veillard." 


44 

English  philosophical  writers,  Priestley  among  others,  and 
had  made  an  abridgment  of  the  Phil.  Trans,  of  the  Royal 
Society,  &c.  How  he  obtained  possession  of  the  English 
manuscript  is  a  mystery  which  will  probably  never  be 
solved.* 

The  following  letter  from  William  Temple  Franklin 
in  London,  to  M.  le  Veillard,  was  written  in  the  spring  of 
1 79 1,  but  subsequent  to  the  appearance  of  the  French 
translation.  He  represents  himself  as  still  engaged  upon 
the  Life  and  works  of  his  grandfather,  which  he  pretended 
would  be  ready  for  the  press  in  a  few  weeks : 

"London,  22  April,  1791. 
u  I  received  last  night,  my  dear  friend,  your  letter  of 
the  1 2th  inst.     I  am  as  sensible  as  you  can  be  of  the  ad- 
vantage that  would  result  from  my  being  at  present  in 


*  The  relations  of  literary  comity  which  must  have  subsisted  between 
Gibelin  and  many  of  Franklin's  English  friends  whose  works  he  had 
translated,  naturally  lead  to  the  suspicion  that  the  copy  pmmised  Mr. 
Vaughan,  if  ever  made  and  sent,  may  in  some  way  have  fallen  into 
Gibelin's  hands.  If  so,  Mr.  Vaughan  must  have  construed  tH«  Doctor's 
injunction,  not  to  permit  "  a  copy  of  the  MS.  to  be  taken  for  any  pur- 
pose whatever,"  to  have  been  removed  by  his  death.  If  sucH  was  the 
case,  however,  why  did  he  not  produce  an  English  edition  ? 

In  a  notice  which  Cabanis  prepared  shortly  after  the  new*  of  Dr. 
Franklin's  death  reached  Paris,  the  following  allusion  is  mad*»  to  this 
edition  of  the  Memoirs  : 

"Benjamin  Franklin  s'est  peint  lui-meme  dans  des  Memoire?  dont  il 
n'a  paru  jusqu'ici  qu'un  fragment ;  mais  ce  sont  ses  ennemis  ou  des  pen- 
sionnaires  du  cabinet  de  Saint  James  qui  l'ont  publie.  lis  y  ont  joint 
de  plates  notes  auxquelles  la  famille  aurait  dvl  repondre  plus  tot  par  la 
publication  du  reste  de  l'ouvrage.  En  attendant  qu'elle  remplisse  ce 
devoir,  nous  allons  rassembler  ici  quelques  traits,  que  nous  avons  *-e- 
cueillis  de  la  bouche  meme  de  Franklin  dans  une  commerce  intime  tie 
plusieurs  annees." — GF.uvres  de  Cabanis,  vol.  v.  p.  221. 


45 

Paris,  and  I  can  assure  you  I  am  equally  desirous  of  it. 
But  business  of  the  last  importance,  and  that  interested 
me  personally,  has  hitherto  detained  me  here  ;  that,  how- 
ever, is  now  happily  completed,  and  I  am  at  present  con- 
stantly occupied  in  the  arrangement  of  my  late  grand- 
father's papers,  which  were  left  in  the  greatest  disorder  , 
whether  I  am  able  to  complete  this  or  not,  1  shall  certainly 
leave  London  for  Paris  in  the  course  of  a  fortnight.  But 
my  wish  is,  if  possible,  to  finish  this,  and  my  bargain  with 
the  booksellers,  before  I  set  off,  that  I  may  not  be  obliged 
to  return  hither  merely  on  that  account.  Were  it  only  the 
Life,  it  would  already  have  been  done  ;  but  I  wish  a  com- 
plete edition  of  his  works  to  appear  at  the  same  time,  and 
hs  I  have  no  assistance,  the  necessary  preparations  are 
very  laborious.  I  am  very  sorry  that  any  part  of  the  Life 
should  have  already  appeared  in  France — however  imper- 
fect, which  I  understand  it  is.  I  have  endeavored,  and  J 
hope  effectually,  to  put  a  stop  to  a  translation  appearing 
here. 

"Adieu,  my  dear  friend;  all  will,  I  hope,  go  well. 
With  my  best  affections  to  all  your  family,  I  am,  as  ever 
and  for  ever, 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

W.  T.  Franklin."* 

William  Temple's  apprehensions  of  an  English  trans- 
lation were  not  without  foundation. 

Strange  as  it  is  that  the  first  version  of  any  portion  of 
these  Memoirs  should  have  appeared  in  a  foreign  tongue, 
it  is  yet  more  remarkable  that  the  first  English  version 
should  have  been,  as  it  was,  a  translation  from  the  French. 


Le  Veillard  Collection. 


46 

Two  years  after  the  French  version  first  appeared  in  Paris 
two  English  versions  were  published  in  London,  o;.e  for 
i  G.  G.  J.  and  J.  Robinson,*  no  date,  8vo,  the  other  for 
J.  Parsons,  No.  21  Paternoster  Row,  and  both  translations 
from  the  French.  The  former  was  the  only  English  ver- 
sion printed  in  America  until  that  of  William  Temple 
Franklin  appeared  in  181 7,  and  continues  to  this  day  to 
be  republished  by  some  of  the  largest  houses,  not  only  in 
Europe,  but  in  America,  under  the  impression  that  it  is 
both  genuine  and  complete.  What  measures  were  taken, 
if  any,  to  prevent  the  appearance  of  an  English  translation 
have  not  transpired. 

William  Temple's  expectations  of  getting  to  Paris  in  a 
few  weeks  do  not  seem  to  have  been  realized  ;  for,  from 
the  following  letter  it  appears  that  nearly  two  months 
had  elapsed  and  he  was  still  in  London,  but  hoped  to  set 
out  for  France  before  the  end  of  the  month.  A  specula- 
tion, from  which  he  had  realized  £7,000,  is  assigned  as 
the  cause  of  his  delay.  He  professes  to  be  much  dis- 
tressed at  what  M.  le.Veillard  had  suffered — in  what  way 
is  not  disclosed — from  his  not  arriving  in  Paris : 

"London,  14  June,  1791. 
"  I  am  much  distressed,  my  dear  friend,  at  what  you 
say  you  suffer  from  my  not  arriving  in  Paris.  I  have 
been  wishing  to  be  there  as  much  as  you  could  wish  to 
see  me,  but  I  could  not  possibly  think  of  leaving  this, 
while  a  business  I  had  undertaken  was  pending  for  which 


*  This  house  also  published  "  The  Lady's  Magazine,"  and  their  ver- 
sion of  the  Autobiography  appeared  in  its  pages  by  monthly  instalments 
during  the  years  1793,  1794.  This,  I  think,  is  the  only  instance  of  the 
Autobiography  appearing  as  a  serial.  In  a  note  to  the  first  number, 
it  is  stated  that  "  from  the  French  copy  is  the  present  version  made." 


47 

I  rec'd  a  salary  and  which,  being  now  completed,  affords 
me  a  profit  of  seven  thousand  pounds  sterling  I  This, 
my  dear  friend,  has  hitherto  kept  me  here — having  onlv 
been  finally  terminated  on  the  nth  inst.  I  am  in  hopes 
you  will  think  my  excuse  for  staying  till  it  was  done  a 
good  one.  I  have  now  only  some  few  arrangements  to 
make  in  consequence  of  my  success,  and  shall  undoubt- 
edly be  with  you  before  the  conclusion  of  this  month. 
My  respects  to  your  family  and  all  inquiring  friends,  and 
believe  me  unalterably 

"  Yours, 

"W.  T.  Franklin."* 

The  letter  which  follows,  dated  seven  months  later  than 
the  preceding,  authorizes  the  impression  that  William 
Temple  Franklin  had  entered  into  engagements  of  some 
sort  with  M.  le  Veillard  for  bringing  out  his  work  simul- 
taneously in  France  and  in  England.  If  so,  his  failure  to 
keep  those  engagements  furnishes  a  natural  and  obvious 
explanation  of  the  sufferings  of  M.  le  Veillard,  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  letter : 

"London,  28  Feb.,  1792. 
"My  Dear  Friend: 

"  I  received  lately  your  favor  of  the  12th  inst.,  and  pre- 
vious to  it,  the  one  you  mention  from  M.  Feuillet.  I  am 
exceedingly  sorry  that  gentleman  cannot  complete  the 
translation,  as  I  am  confident  it  would  have  been  well 
done  ;  however,  it  shall  not  retard  the  publication  of  such 
parts  as  are  translated  at  the  time  the  original  appears 


Le  Veillard  Collection. 


48 

here,  which  at  present  is  not  determined,  but  will  not  be 
delayed  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  materials.  This  might,  perhaps,  have  been 
done  sooner  had  I  been  better  calculated  for  the  business, 
or  had  not  my  fortune  required  my  attention  to  other  pur- 
suits, by  which  it  has  been  most  materially  benefited. 
Notwithstanding  the  opinion  you  entertain — that  I  have 
neglected  the  publication  in  question  for  business  less  im- 
portant (which,  by  the  way,  you  cannot  possibly  be  a 
judge  of) — I  can  assure  you  I  have  given  it  all  the  atten- 
tion I  could,  consistent  with  the  important  concerns  above 
alluded  to,  in  which  others  being  interested,  required  my 
first  and  most  diligent  care  ;  and,  however  I  may  have 
lost  something  by  not  publishing  sooner,  yet  it  has  been 
amply  compensated  by  those  pursuits  you  judge  less  im- 
portant. I  am  now  almost  entirely  employed  in  bringing 
forward  the  English  edition,  and  shall  not  leave  this  till  I 
have  put  it  into  such  a  train  as  not  to  require  my  pres- 
ence ;  but  this  will  take  up  more  time  than  you  are  aware 
of;  for  however  easy  it  may  be  to  bring  forward  a  bro- 
chure, it  is  no  small  labor  to  publish  a  voluminous  work  ; 
and  that,  too,  to  be  formed  out  of  materials  that  were  left 
in  the  greatest  confusion.  A  few  months  will,  I  hope, 
satisfy  your  impatience  and  the  public  curiosity.  When 
matters  are  in  good  train  here,  I  shall  immediately  repair 
to  Paris  to  forward  the  translation,  and  you  may  rely  on 
it  that  at  least  the  Life  shall  appear  the  same  day  in  Paris 
as  in  London  ;  sooner  I  see  not  the  necessity  for,  and  it 
might  expose  me  hereafter  to  some  difficulties  here ;  as 
:he  French  edition  appearing  previous  to  the  English,  a 
translation  might  be  printed  here  to  the  prejudice  of  my 
copy. 


49 

"  Adieu,  my  dearest  friend ;  remember  me,  in  the 
most  affectionate  manner,  to  Madame  le  Veillard,  and 
every  part  of  your  family,  and  believe  me,  as  ever  and 
for  ever, 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

"W.  T.  Franklin. 

"  P.  S. — You  have  heard,  I  suppose,  of  the  nomination 
by  the  President  of  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris  to  be  minister 
at  your  Court?  It  has,  however,  suffered  some  demur  in 
the  Senate,  and  has  not  been  yet  confirmed. 

"  I  have  no  doubt,  however,  but  it  will.  From  the  well- 
known  sentiments  of  Mr.  M.,  this  appointment  will  not, 
I  believe,  be  very  agreeable  to  the  National  Assembly. 
Mr.  Short  goes  to  Holland,  and  I  am  totally  neglected. 
I  shall  therefore  lose  no  time,  but  turn  my  attention  to 
other  pursuits."  * 

No  farther  correspondence  appears  to  have  passed  be- 
tween William  Temple  Franklin  and  M.  le  Veillard, 
though  the  latter  gentleman  was  living  till  1794.  The 
interruption  to  this  correspondence  was  probably  the  le- 
sult  of  an  estrangement,  of  which  the  letters  cited  furnish 
some  premonitory  symptoms. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  delay, 
William  Temple's  edition  did  not  appear  until  181 7. 

Nor,  as  I  have  before  intimated,  was  this  editlo  firin- 
ceps  of  181 7  printed  from  the  original  manuscripts,  but 
from  the  copy  presented  to  M.   le  Veillard.     The  evi- 


*  Le  Veillard  Collection. 
0 


50 

dence  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  omission  of  the  last 
eight  pages,  which  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  autograph, 
and  in  the  following  memorandum  inscribed  on  its  fly- 
leaves in  French  and  in  English,  in  the  handwriting,  I 
presume,  of  M.  de  Senarmont,  or  of  some  member  of  his 
family.     The  English  version  runs  as  follows  : 

"THE  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN, 

"written  by  himself. 

"  The  only  Manuscript  Entirely  of  his  own  Handwriting. 

"  Dr.  Franklin,  when  Ambassador  in  France,  was 
very  intimate  with  M.  le  Veillard,  gentilhomme  ordi- 
naire du  Roi,  his  neighbor,  near  Paris.  He  presented 
his  friend  with  a  fine  copy  of  the  Memoirs  of  his  own 
life. 

"  When  William  Temple  Franklin,  Dr.  Franklin's  grand- 
son, came  to  Europe  in  order  to  publish  the  works  of  his 
illustrious  grandfather,  he  required  from  Mad.  le  Veillard 
(M.  le  Veillard  had  perished  on  the  Revolutionary  scaf- 
fold) the  correct  and  fine  copy  given  by  his  grandfather, 
as  more  convenient  for  the  printer.  '  If  I  give  it  to  you, 
I  shall  have  nothing  more  of  our  friend.'  '  I  will  give 
you,  in  place  of  the  copy,  the  original  manuscript  of  my 
grandfather.' 

"In  this  manner  the  original  and  only  manuscript  came 
by  inheritance  into  the  hands  of  M.  de  Senarmont,  M.  le 
Veillard's  grand-nephew." 

The  precise  time  when  the  exchange  here  referred  to 
was  made  does  not  appear,  but  the  following  paragraph 
from  Sir  Samuel  Romilly's  Diary  of  a  Visit  to  France  in 
1802,  informs  us  that  he  was  shown  the  autograph  ;  that 


5i 

the  copy  originally  furnished  to  M.  le  Veillard,  and  after 
ward   given  to  William   T.   Franklin,   was  made  by  a 
copying-press,  and  that  that  copy  was  exchanged  for  the 
original  previous  to  Romilly's  visit  in  1802  : 

M  Sept  7.  Mad.  Gautier  procured  for  me  the  reading  of 
the  original  manuscript  of  Dr.  Franklin's  Life.  There 
are  only  two  copies — this,  and  one  which  Dr.  Franklin 
took  with  a  machine  for  copying  letters,  and  which  is  in 
possession  of  his  grandson.  Franklin  gave  the  manu- 
script to  M.  le  Veillard,  of  Passy,  who  was  guillotined 
during  the  Revolution.  Upon  his  death  it  came  into  the 
hands  of  his  daughter  or  grand-daughter,  Mad'lle  le  Veil- 
lard, who  is  the  present  possessor  of  it.  It  appears  evi- 
dently to  be  the  first  draught  written  by  Franklin,  for  in 
a  great  many  places  the  word  originally  written  is  erased 
with  a  pen,  and  a  word  nearly  synonymous  substituted  in 
its  place,  not  over  the  other  but  further  on,  so  as  mani- 
festly to  show  that  the  correction  was  made  at  the  time 
of  the  original  composition.  The  manuscript  contains  a 
great  many  additions  made  upon  a  very  wide  margin ; 
but  I  did  not  find  that  a  single  passage  was  anywhere 
struck  out.  Part  of  the  work,  but  not  quite  half  of  it, 
has  been  translated  into  French,  and  from  French  re- 
translated into  English.  The  Life  comes  down  no  lower 
than  to  the  year  1757"* 

The  omission  of  the  eight  pages  which  conclude  the 
manuscript,  and  which  constitute  one  of  the  most  precious 
chapters  of  this  famous  fragment,  is  susceptible  of  the 
following  explanation : 

William  Temple  Franklin   exchanged  the  autograph 


*  Life  of  Romilly,  3d  ed.,  vol.  i.  p.  408. 


52 

manuscript  for  the  copy  sent  to  M.  le  Veillard,  without 
being  aware  that,  between  the  time  that  copy  was  made 
and  its  author's  death,  these  pages  had  been  added.  Pre- 
suming they  were  the  same,  probably  he  did  not  compare 
them,  and  thus  overlooked  one  of  the  most  precious  chap- 
ters of  this  famous  fragment. 

William  Temple  Franklin's  delay  in  the  publication  of 
the  Memoirs,  twenty-seven  years  after  the  death  of  their 
author,  cannot  be  so  satisfactorily  accounted  for. 

It  brought  a  reproach  upon  our  country  for  the  lack  of 
u  literary  enterprise  and  activity,"  of  which  it  was  thought 
to  convict  us,  and  was  also  attributed,  in  part,  to  motives 
not  entirely  honorable  to  the  person  directly  responsible 
for  the  delay.  The  Edinburgh  Review  gave  the  most 
solemn  expression  to  the  public  discontent  in  a  review 
of  the  three-volume  edition  of  Franklin's  Works  and 
Memoirs,  published  by  Johnson  &  Longman,  of  London, 
in  1806.* 

In  the  first  two  paragraphs  of  this  article  the  writer 
says: 

"  Nothing,  we  think,  can  show  more  clearly  the  singu- 
lar want  of  literary  enterprise  or  activity  in  the  States  of 
America  than  that  no  one  has  yet  been  found  in  that 
flourishing  republic  to  collect  and  publish  the  works  of 
their  only  philosopher.  It  is  not  even  very  creditable  to 
the  literary  curiosity  of  the  English  public  that  there 
should  have  been  no  complete  edition  of  the  writings  of 
Dr.  Franklin  till  the  year  1806  ;  and  we  should  have  beer 
altogether  unable  to  account  for  the  imperfect  and  un 
satisfactory  manner  in  which  the  work  has  now  been  per 


*  See  Edinburgh  Review,  July,  1806. 


53 

formed,  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  statement  in  a  prefatory 
advertisement,  which  removes  all  blame  from  the  editor 
to  attach  it  to  a  higher  quarter.  It  is  there  stated  that 
recently,  after  the  death  of  the  author,  his  grandson,  to 
whom  all  his  papers  had  been  bequeathed,  made  a  voyage 
to  London  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  and  disposing  of 
a  complete  collection  of  all  his  published  and  unpublished 
writings,  with  Memoirs  of  his  life  brought  down  by  him- 
self to  the  year  1757?  and  continued  to  his  death  by  hi' 
descendant.  It  was  settled  that  the  work  should  be  pub- 
lished in  three  quarto  volumes  in  England,  Germany 
and  France,  and  a  negotiation  was  commenced  with  the 
booksellers  as  to  the  terms  of  purchase  and  publication. 
At  this  stage  of  the  business,  however,  the  proposals 
were  suddenly  withdrawn,  and  nothing  more  has  been 
heard  of  the  work  in  this  its  fair  and  natural  market. 

"  The  proprietor,  it  seems,  had  found  a  bidder  of  a  dif- 
ferent description  in  some  emissary  of  government, 
whose  object  was  to  withhold  the  manuscripts  from  the 
world,  not  to  benefit  it  by  their  publication ;  and  they 
thus  either  passed  into  other  hands,  or  the  person  to 
whom  they  were  bequeathed  received  a  remuneration  for 
suppressing  them. 

"  If  this  statement  be  correct,  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  no  emissary  of  government  was  ever  em- 
ployed on  a  more  miserable  and  unworthy  service.  It  is 
iudicrous  to  talk  of  the  danger  of  disclosing,  in  i795>  any 
secrets  of  State  with  regard  to  the  war  of  American  Inde- 
pendence ;  and  as  to  any  anecdotes  or  observations  that 
might  give  offence  to  individuals,  we  think  it  should 
always  be  remembered  that  public  functionaries  are  the 
property  of  the  public ;   that  their  character  belongs  to 

6» 


54 

history  and  to  posterity,  and  that  it  is  equally  absurd  an<3 
discreditable  to  think  of  suppressing  any  part  of  the  evi- 
dence by  which  their  merits  must  be  ultimately  deter- 
mined. But  the  whole  of  the  works  that  have  been  sup- 
pressed certainly  did  not  relate  to  republican  politics. 
The  history  of  the  author's  life,  down  to  1757,  could  not 
well  contain  any  matter  of  offence,  and  a  variety  of  gen- 
eral remarks  and  speculations  which  he  is  understood  to 
have  left  behind  him  might  have  been  permitted  to  see 
the  light,  though  his  diplomatic  operations  had  been  inter- 
dicted. The  emissary  of  government,  however,  probably 
took  no  care  of  these  things :  he  was  resolved  to  leave  no 
rubs  and  botches  in  his  work,  and,  to  stifle  the  dreaded 
revelation,  he  thought  the  best  way  was  to  strangle  all  the 
innocents  in  the  vicinage." 

William  Temple's  tardy  vindication  from  these  imputa- 
tions is  given  in  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  his  grand- 
father's works.  He  there  admits  that  he  delayed  their 
publication,  that  "  they  might  not  be  the  means  of  awa- 
kening painful  recollections  or  of  rekindling  the  dying 
embers  of  animosity."* 

Mr.  Sparks  thinks  that  William  Temple  Franklin  had 
motives  for  delaying  the  publication  of  the  writings  of  hi& 
grandfather  which  he  did  not  assign  in  his  preface.  He 
says  :f 

"  There  was  a  rumor  that  the  British  ministry  interposed 
and  offered  the  proprietor  of  the  papers  a  large  remunera- 
tion to  suppress  them,  which  he  accepted.  This  rumor 
was  so  broadly  stated  in  the  preface  to  Johnson's  edition 


*  The  whole  of  this  preface  is  worth  perusing.     It  will  be  found  at 
length  in  Appendix  I. 

t  Sparks'  Life  of  Franklin,  vol.  vii.   Preface. 


55 

as  to  amount  to  a  positive  charge :  and  it  was  reiterated 
with  an  assurance  that  would  seem  at  least  to  imply  that 
it  was  sustained  by  the  public  opinion.  To  this  charge 
William  Temple  Franklin  replied  when,  in  the  year  1817, 
he  published  an  edition  of  his  grandfather's  works  from 
the  manuscripts  in  his  possession.  In  the  preface  to  the 
first  volume  he  endeavors  to  explain  the  reason  why  he 
had  so  long  delayed  the  publication,  and  he  also  takes 
notice  of  the  charge  in  question.  He  treats  it  with  indig- 
nation and  contempt,  and  appears  not  to  regard  it  as 
worthy  of  being  refuted.  He  was  less  reserved  in  con- 
versation. Dr.  John  W.  Francis,  of  New  York,  saw  him 
often  in  London  in  the  year  181 6,  while  he  was  preparing 
his  grandfather's  papers  for  the  press.  *  To  me/  says 
Dr.  Francis,  '  he  peremptorily  denied  all  interference  of 
any  official  authorities  whatever  with  his  intended  publi- 
cation, and  assigned,  as  sufficient  causes  for  the  non-exe- 
cution of  the  task  committed  to  him,  the  interruption  of 
communication  and  the  hostilities  between  the  French 
and  the  English  nations,  and  the  consequent  embarrass- 
ments he  encountered  in  collecting  the  scattered  mate 
rials.'  The  reason  here  assigned  for  delay  is  not  very 
satisfactory,  and  there  were  doubtless  others.  His  father, 
William  Franklin,  died  ;n  1813.  He  had  been  a  pen- 
sioner on  the  British  govei  nment,  in  consequence  of  the 
part  he  had  taken  in  the  Revolution,  and  it  is  probable 
that  he  may  have  been  averse  to  the  publication  of  his 
father's  papers  during  his  lifetime.  To  say  the  least,  the 
suspicion  that  papers  were  finally  suppressed  for  any 
cause  is  without  proof  and  highly  improbable.  A  paper 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  having  been  shown  to 
him  by  Dr.  Franklin,  and  supposed  to  have  been  sup- 


56 

pressed,  was  undoubtedly  the  one  relating  to  a  negotia- 
tion with  Lord  Howe  and  others,  for  a  reconciliation 
between  the  two  countries,  just  before  Dr.  Franklin  left 
England,  for  the  last  time.  This  was  published  by  his 
grandson,  and  is  contained  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
present  edition." 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Mr.  Sparks  could  have  read 
Franklin's  account  of  his  negotiations  with  Lord  Howe  by 
the  light  of  Jefferson's  statement  to  which  he  refers,  when 
he  wrote  that  "  the  suspicion  that  papers  were  finally 
suppressed  for  any  cause  is  without  proof  and  highly  im- 
probable." In  the  closing  pages  of  his  autobiography 
Mr.  Jefferson  tells  us  that  he  called  upon  Dr.  Franklin  in 
Philadelphia  in  1790,  and  only  a  few  weeks  before  his 
death,  when  the  doctor  placed  in  his  hands  a  full  account 
of  his  negotiations  in  London  with  the  British  ministry 
through  Lord  Howe. 

"I  remember,"  continues  Mr.  Jefferson,  "  that  Lord 
North's  answers  were  dry,  unyielding  in  the  spirit  of  un- 
conditional submission,  and  betrayed  an  absolute  indiffer- 
ence to  the  occurrence  of  a  rupture,  and  he  said  to  the 
mediators,  at  last,  that  '  a  rebellion  was  not  to  be  depre- 
cated on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  ;  that  the  confiscations 
it  would  produce  would  provide  for  many  of  their  friends.' " 

"  This  expression  was  reported  by  the  mediators  to  Frank- 
lin, and  indicated  so  cool  and  calculated  a  purpose  in  the 
ministry  as  to  render  compromise  hopeless,  and  the  nego- 
tiation was  discontinued. 

"  If  this  is  not  among  the  papers  published,  we  ask  what 
lias  become  of  it?  I  delivered  it  with  my  own  hands  into 
those  of  Temple  Franklin.  It  certainly  established  views 
so  atrocious  in  the  British  government  that  its  suppression 


57 

would,  to  them,  be  worth  a  great  price.  But  could  the 
grandson  of  Dr.  Franklin  be,  in  such  degree,  an  accom- 
plice in  the  parricide  of  the  memory  of  his  immortal 
grandfather  ?  The  suspension  for  more  than  twenty 
years  of  the  general  publication  bequeathed  and  confided 
to  him,  produced  for  a  while,  hard  suspicions  against 
him  ;  and  if,  at  last,  all  are  not  published,  a  part  of  these 
suspicions  may  remain  with  some."* 

Now  it  is  very  certain  that  no  such  language  or  senti- 
ment is  to  be  found  in  the  "  account  of  negotiations  in 
London  for  effecting  a  reconciliation  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  American  Colonies,"  as  first  published 
by  Wm.  Temple  Franklin,  in  1817,  and  republished  by 
Mr.  Sparks  in  the  5th  Vol.  of  his  collection  of  the  writings 
of  Franklin. 

As  there  can  be  no  ground  for  questioning  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's testimony  on  this  point,  we  are  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  passage  in  question  was  suppressed. 
And  why  should  we  doubt  it  with  the  evidence  before 
us,  in  his  treatment  of  the  autobiography,  that  he  was  not 
restrained  from  mutilating  his  grandfather's  works  by 
respect  either  for  his  genius  or  his  fame? 

The  theory  of  Mr.  Sparks  in  regard  to  William  Temple 
Franklin's  delay  in  publishing  his  grandfather's  works  is, 
no  doubt,  correct  so  far  as  it  goes.  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion with  any  person  cognizant  of  the  state  of  feeling  which 
prevailed  at  the  time  in  England  toward  the  revolted  Col- 
onies, that  the  publication  of  an  elaborate  edition  of  Frank- 
lin's works  would  have  been  unacceptable  to  the  governing 
classes  ;  nor  can  there  be  much  doubt  that  such  a  publica- 


*  Jefferson's  Works,  Vol.  I.,  Washington  Edition. 


58 

tion  would  have  had  a  tendency  to  compromise  William 
Franklin  with  the  government,  and  put  his  pension  in 
peril.  When  it  is  further  considered  that  William  Frank- 
lin not  only  had  no  sympathy  with  the  republican  cause 
in  America,  but  did  all  he  could  to  betray  it,  and  thus 
entitled  himself  to  the  pension  upon  which  he  lived,  it 
may  safely  be  inferred  that  he  exerted  what  influence  he 
possessed  over  his  son,  not  only  to  defer  the  publication, 
but  to  unsettle  his  son's  faith  in  the  value  and  stability  of 
the  political  fabric  which  their  common  ancestor  had  had 
such  an  important  agency  in  erecting.  And  it  is  also  to 
be  borne  in  mind,  that  any  representations  of  that  nature 
which  the  father  might  make  would  have  fallen  upon  the 
son's  mind  in  a  state  not  wholly  unprepared  to  give  it 
hospitality.  Both  he  and  his  grandfather  thought  he  had 
been  treated  ungraciously  by  our  governmant,  from  which 
he  had  been  educated  to  expect  some  diplomatic  appoint- 
ment. Immediately  after  his  grandfather's  death  he  left 
the  United  States  under  a  feeling  of  disappointment,  if 
not  of  disgust,  at  their  ingratitude,  and  never  returned. 
He  bore  with  him  in  his  trunk  a  manuscript  property 
which  could  be  turned  to  considerable  account  in  two 
ways — either  by  printing  it  or  by  suppressing  it.  The 
course  that  he  finally  took  was  one  which  enabled  him,  if 
he  chose,  to  take  the  benefit  of  both  modes  of  procedure. 
He  delayed  the  publication  until  it  could  no  longer  work 
any  prejudice  to  him  or  his,  and  then  found  for  it,  doubt- 
less, at  last  as  propitious  a  market  as  he  could  have  hoped 
for  had  he  published  earlier. 

Whether  he  did  profit  by  this  delay,  and  if  so,  in  what 
way  and  to  what  extent,  will  probably  never  be  known 
with  absolute  certainty.     Fi'ery  one's  conclusions  will  be 


59 

more  or  less  affected  by  their  knowledge  of  his  character, 
habits  and  necessities.  There  is  a  paragraph  in  one  of 
his  letters  already  cited,  which  must  henceforth  be  weighed 
in  deciding  this  question.  He  wrote  to  M.  le  Veillard 
from  London  on  the  14th  of  June,  1791  : 

"  I  am  much  distressed,  my  dear  friend,  at  what  you 
say  you  surfer  from  my  not  arriving  in  Paris.  I  have 
been  wishing  to  be  there  as  much  as  you  could  wish  to 
see  me,  but  I  could  not  possibly  think  of  leaving  this 
while  a  business  I  had  undertaken  was  pending,  for  which 
I  rec'd  a  salary  ;  and  which,  being  now  completed,  affords 
me  a  profit  of  seven  thousand  founds  sterling  I  This, 
my  dear  friend,  has  hitherto  kept  me  here — having  only 
been  finally  terminated  on  the  nth  inst.  I  am  in  hopes 
you  will  think  my  excuse  for  staying  till  it  was  done  a 
good  one.  I  have  now  only  some  few  arrangements  to 
make  in  consequence  of  my  success,  and  shall  undoubt- 
edly be  with  you  before  the  conclusion  of  this  month." 

When  this  was  written,  Dr.  Franklin  had  been  dead 
but  about  a  year ;  the  writer  had  been  in  London  barely 
six  months.  He  never  pretended  in  his  correspondence 
before  to  have  any  other  business  there  than  to  edit  his 
grandfather's  works  ;  he  suddenly  engages  himself  upon  a 
salary ;  in  less  than  six  months  finishes  his  business,  and 
pockets  a  profit  of  £7000,  or  say  $35,000.  While  earn- 
ing this  handsome  sum  he  was  apparently  a  free  man, 
constantly  writing  to  M.  le  Veillard  that  he  was  expect- 
ing to  go  in  a  few  days  or  weeks  to  Paris,  being  only 
detained  in  London  to  finish  his  book.  It  is  not  easy  to 
imagine  any  salaried  employment,  especially  such  a  profit- 
able one  as  this  seemed  to  be,  which  imposed  so  slight  a 
restraint  upon  the  movements  of  its  beneficiary. 


6o 

From  whatever  source  this  £7000  came,  and  howevei 
little  or  much  the  acquisition  of  it  had  to  do  with  the 
delay  in  the  publication  of  his  grandfather's  works,  it  is 
certainly  to  be  regretted  that  so  little  is  known  of  the 
business  engagement  which  was  entered  into  so  suddenly, 
was  of  such  brief  duration,  and  yet  yielded  such  generous 
profits.  Cabanis*  tells  us,  that  when  William  Franklin 
asked  of  the  Court  of  St.  James  the  governorship  of  one 
of  the  colonies  f — a  favor  by  which  he  became  unfor- 
tunately bound  to  the  Loyalist  party — Franklin  said  to 
him  :  "  Think  what  this  whistle  will  some  day  cost  you. 
Why  not  rather  be  a  carpenter  or  a  ploughman,  if  the 
fortune  I  leave  you  prove  insufficient?  The  man  who 
works  for  his  living  is  at  least  independent.  But,"  added 
he,  in  telling  us  this  story,  "  the  young  man  was  infatu- 
ated with  the  '  Excellency.'  He  was  ashamed  to  resemble 
his  father." 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  grandson,  after  residing 
a  while  in  London,  succumbed  to  a  similar  weakness. 

In  the  very  year  that  the  edition  of  William  Temple 
Franklin  made  its  appearance,  a  collection  of  Franklin's 
correspondence  was  compiled  and  published  in  Paris,  in 
2  vols.,  by  M.  Charles  Malo.J     The  Preface  of  this  book 


*  CEuvres  de  Cabanis,  vol.  v.  p.  223.  f  New  Jersey. 

J  C or respon dance  inedite  et  secrete  de  Docteur  B.  Franklin,  Ministre 
Plenipotentiaire  des  Etats-Unis  d'Amerique  pies  la  Cour  de  France 
depuis  l'annee  1753  jusqu'en  1790,  offrant,  en  trois  parties  completes  et 
bien  distinctes, 

i°.  Les  Memoires  de  sa  Vie  privee ; 

2°.  Les  causes  premieres  de  la  Revolution  d'Amerique ; 

3°.  L'Histoire  des  diverses  negotiations  entre  l'Angleterre,  la  France 
et  les  Etats-Unis,  publiee  pour  la  premiere  fois  en  France,  avec  des 
notes,  additions,  &c.  Paris,  Janet  pere,  Libraire  Editeur,  Rue  Saint- 
Jacques,  No.  59.     MDCCCXVII. 


6i 

was  made  the  vehicle  of  a  ruthless  attack  upon  William 
Temple  Franklin  and  upon  his  editorial  enterprise,  which, 
coming  as  it  did  from  a  writer  of  some  reputation,  meas- 
ures the  marvelous  change  which  must  have  taken  place 
in  the  feelings  of  the  French  people  toward  him  since 
he  left  Paris,  to  have  rendered  such  an  introduction  of 
his  grandfather's  works  acceptable  to  them.  M.  Malo 
accuses  him  of  selecting  from,  abridging  and  belittling 
the  works  of  the  Doctor,  and  concludes  with  the  question  : 
"  Ought  we  to  inherit  from  one  we  have  assassinated  ?"* 


*  For  a  translation  of  this  diatribe,  see  the  Appendix,  No.  II.  The 
author  of  it,  M.  Charles  Malo,  was  a  voluminous  writer,  something  of  a 
poet,  and  a  warm  republican.  The  list  of  his  works  alone  fills  nearly 
two  pages  of  Querard.  It  is  not  strange  that  one  who  published  so 
much  should  make  some  ludicrous  blunders,  of  which  several  specimens 
may  be  found  among  the  notes  with  which  he  endeavored  to  illumine 
the  writings  of  Franklin.  In  one  of  his  letters  Franklin  remarks: 
"  They  thought  a  Yankee  was  a  sort  of  Yahoo."  Upon  this  M.  Malo 
remarks  : 

"  Yahoo. — This  must  be  an  animal.  They  pretend  it  is  an  opossum  ; 
but  I  have  not  found  the  word  '  Yahoo'  in  any  dictionary  of  natural 
history." 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  Buffon,  Franklin  wrote  that  he  had  escaped 
obesity  by  eating  moderately,  drinking  neither  wine  nor  cider,  and  in 
exercising  himself  daily  with  dumb-bells.  M.  Malo  instructs  his  coun- 
trymen that  "this  term  dumb-bell  expresses  among  the  English  the 
motion  a  person  seated  makes  in  moving  back  and  forth  only  the  upp^r 
part  of  his  ix>dy." 

In  one  instance  M.  Malo  presumed  to  act  as  a  censor  upon  Dr. 
Franklin  himself.  In  a  letter  of  the  Doctor's,  he  had  quoted  with  a  sort 
of  humorous  approval  the  following  lines  from  an  old  song  : 

"With  a  courage  undaunted  may  I  face  my  last  day, 
And  when  I  am  gone  may  the  better  sort  say, 
In  the  morning  when  sober,  in  the  evening  when  mellow  : 
He  is  gone,  and  has  not  left  behind  him  his  fellow ; 
For  he  governed  his  passions." 


62 

A  feeling  seems  to  have  prevailed  among  the  French 
editors  of  Franklin's  writings  that  he  was  ashamed 
of  his  grandfather's  humble  origin  and  early  employ- 
ments. 

In  the  year  1807,  there  used  to  appear  tri-weekly  in 
Paris,  and  three  columns  to  the  page,  a  sort  of  embryo 
Galignani  called  The  Argus  or  London  Review  in 
Paris.  On  the  28th  of  March  of  that  year,  under  the 
heading  of  New  York,  8th  September,  there  appeared 
on  the  editorial  page  and  in  editorial  type  a  review  of 
Johnson's  three-volume  English  edition  of  Dr.  Franklin's 
works.  The  article  was  credited  to  the  American  Citizen, 
a  journal  then  printed  in  New  York,  and  was  followed  by 
an  extract  from  the  preface.  The  two  pieces  fill  a  column 
of  the  Argus. 

The  spirit  of  the  article  may  be  inferred  from  the  fol- 
lowing passage : 

"  William  Temple  Franklin,  without  shame,  without 
remorse,  mean  and  mercenary,  sold  the  sacred  deposit, 
committed  to  his  care  by  Dr.  Franklin,  to  the  British 
government.  Franklin's  works  are  therefore  lost  to  the 
world." 

In  the  next  succeeding  number  of  the  Argus,  March 
31st,  appeared  the  following: 


M.  Malo  remarks  upon  this  couplet :  "  I  have  not  translated  the  third 
line  literally,  for  it  did  not  seem  to  me  in  very  good  taste  to  desire  to  be 
praised  by  honest  people,  who  are  sober  in  the  morning  and  drunk  in 
the  evening."     So  he  translated  the  verse  as  follows  : 

"  Puisse  je  avec  courage  voir  arriver  mon  dernier  jour ;  et  quand  je 
ne  serai  plus,  puissent  les  gens  vertueux  repeter  souvent,  '  il  est  mort,  et 
n'a  pas  laisse  son  pareil  au  monde  !  Car  il  avait  sur  ses  passions  up 
pouvoir  absolu.' " 


63 

Tuesday,  31  March,  1807. 

Dr.  Franklin  : — Mr.  William  Temple  Franklin, 
now  in  Paris,  has  just  written  to  us  the  following  letter, 
in  order  to  vindicate  his  character  from  the  foul  expres- 
sions thrown  out  against  him,  in  an  article  inserted  in  the 
last  number  of  the  Argus,  extracted  from  the  American 
Citizen.  We  publish  this  letter  with  the  greater  pleasure 
as  it  contains  a  full  and  satisfactory  answer  to  the  calum- 
nies circulated  on  his  conduct  and  announces  sentiments 
worthy  of  the  celebrated  name  he  bears  ;  at  the  same  time 
that  it  gives  the  public  the  hope  of  seeing  a  genuine  edi- 
tion of  the  works  of  Dr.  Franklin  more  conformable  to 
the  intentions  and  liberal  principles  of  the  author. 

To  the  editor  of  the  Argus. 

Paris,  Saturday,  28  March,  1807. 

Sir  : — In  the  Argus  of  this  day  I  have  read  with  equal 
indignation  and  surprise,  the  unfounded  and  illiberal 
attack  made  on  my  character,  as  well  as  the  numerous 
falsehoods  contained  in  extracts  from  an  American  paper 
and  in  the  preface  of  a  book  which  appears  to  be  lately 
published  in  London,  under  the  specious  title  of  M  The 
Works  of  Dr.  Franklin,"  my  worthy  grandfather. 

To  those  acquainted  with  me  I  flatter  myself  no  justifi- 
cation is  necessary  to  prove  the  falsehood  of  such  unsup- 
ported assertions  and  insinuations,  as  base  as  they  respect 
me,  as  they  are  ridiculous  in  regard  to  the  British  govern- 
ment. But  out  of  respect  to  public  opinion,  to  the  name 
I  bear,  and  to  those  who  honor  me  with  their  friendship,! 
feel  it  incumbent  on  me  thus  publicly  and  solemnly  to 
declare  in  answer  to  the  libel  in  question  : 

1st.  That  it  is  false,  as  asserted,  that  I  had  my  grand- 


64 

father's  "  directions  to  publish  the  entire  of  his  works  f 
he  left  them  to  my  discretion  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  tc 
the  period  of  publication  ;  no  one  has  any  right  to  interfere 
therewith. 

2d.  It  is  most  atrociously  false,  as  boldly  and  shame- 
fully asserted  without  even  the  attempt  to  prove  it,  that  I 
sold  my  grandfather's  manuscripts  or  any  part  of  them  to 
the  British  government ;  or  that  any  attempt,  either  direct 
or  indirect,  was  made  by  that  government  or  their  agents 
to  suppress  the  publication  of  the  whole  or  any  part 
thereof. 

3d.  That  the  said  original  manuscripts,  with  the  copy 
prepared  for  the  press,  are  now  and  have  been  long  since 
deposited  by  me  under  lock  and  key  in  the  secure  vaults 
of  my  bankers,  Hemes,  Farquhar  &  Co.,  London ;  they 
will  therefore  not  be  lost  to  the  world  as  maliciously  as- 
serted from  interested  motives,  as  will  appear  at  a  future 
and  I  hope  early  period. 

4th.  That  previous  to  my  leaving  London  I  repeatedly 
offered  to  dispose  of  the  copyright  of  my  grandfather's 
manuscripts  to  some  of  the  most  eminent  printers  there, 
and  that  on  very  reasonable  terms — not  for  "  several  thou- 
sand pounds "  as  ridiculously  set  forth.  They  not  only 
refused  to  publish,  but  even  to  undertake  the  printing, 
publishing,  etc.,  at  their  sole  risk,  giving  for  reason  that 
the  period  was  not  propitious  for  a  publication  of  that 
nature,  owing  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  Europe,  which  oc- 
cupied solely  the  public  attention,  so  that  a  work  of  any 
magnitude,  not  immediately  connected  with  public  affairs, 
would  not  sell ;  and  that  they  had  lost  by  all  their  late 
purchases  of  copyright  of  great  works,  even  of  the  most 
celebrated  writers  of  modern  times. 


65 

5th.  That  the  affairs  of  Europe  remaining  in  the  same 
unsettled  state,  and  the  public  mind  continuing  to  be 
wholly  interested  therein,  have  alone  influenced  my  not 
bringing  forward  a  work  which,  to  do  it  with  propriety 
and  becoming  splendor  in  honor  to  my  much  revered 
ancestor's  memory,  would  be  attended  with  very  consider- 
able expense  and  a  very  uncertain  success  in  such  mo- 
mentous times.* 

I  have  now,  sir,  replied  to  the  various  heads  of  malevo- 
lent and  interested  accusation  brought  forward  against 
me ;  and  I  hope  I  have  justified  my  character  in  as  satis- 
factory a  manner  as  it  is  possible  against  accusations  and 
insinuations  without  even  a  shadow  of  proof,  nay  even  of 
probability,  to  support  them.  It  is  easy  to  accuse,  not 
always  to  defend.  But  I  hope,  sir,  you  will  show  your 
justice  and  impartiality  by  inserting  this  letter  in  your 
next  Argus  as  an  antidote  to  the  poison  contained  in  the 
former  one,  as  far  as  respects  the  character  of  your  hum- 
ble servant, 

William  Temple  Franklin. 

It  is  certainly  a  little  remarkable  1st.  That  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  available  space  of  a  small  and  obscure  Paris 
newspaper,  devoted  mainly  to  the  European  affairs  of  those 
momentous  times,  should  be  given  to  a  New  York  criticism 
of  an  English  book  ;  a  criticism  written  in  September,  1806, 
and  which  by  March,  1807,  had  certainly  lost  much  of  its 
novelty. 

2d.  That  William  Temple  Franklin,  instead  of  present- 
ing his  defence  against  these  foul  aspersions,  in  one  of 
the  two   countries  where  they  had    been  circulated  and 

*  Sic  in  original. 
6* 


66 

were  most  damaging  to  his  character,  should  have  pre- 
ferred an  organ  not  one  note  of  which  was  likely  to  reach 
England  or  America  or  any  considerable  number  in 
France. 

3d.  In  this  letter,  while  stoutly  denying  any  collusion 
with  the  British  government  for  the  suppression  of  his 
grandfather's  papers,  he  assigns  as  a  reason  for  his  delay 
in  giving  them  to  the  world,  that  he  could  not  afford  to 
publish  them  at  his  own  expense,  and  no  publisher  in 
London  would  take  them  on  other  conditions.  But  how 
can  the  plea  for  delay  here  preferred,  be  reconciled  with 
the  philanthropic  motive  for  inaction  set  up  in  his  preface 
to  the  edition  of  his  grandfather's  works,  which  he  finally 
published  ten  years  later,  and  in  which  he  says  that  to 
have  committed  them  sooner  to  the  press  "  would  have 
been  much  more  to  his  pecuniary  advantage  ?" 

Whatever  impression  this  letter  may  have  upon  the 
mind  of  the  reader  of  to-day,  it  is  certain  that  it  did  not 
shake  the  general  conviction  of  William  Temple's  con- 
temporaries that  he  had  yielded  to  influences  anything 
but  friendly  to  the  memory  of  his  grandfather  or  honor- 
able to  himself. 


III. 

The  autograph  Memoirs  fill  220  pages  of  foolscap, 
written  both  sides  of  the  page.  A  margin  of  half  its 
width  was  left  on  each  page  for  such  additions  and  cor- 
rections as  the  autobiographer  might  have  occasion  to 
make  at  a  future  day.  Of  this  margin  the  Doctor  took 
frequent   advantage.     He  had  such  a  clear  and  distinct 


67 

chirography  that  all  the  MS.  is  legible,  though  abound 
ing  with  interlineations  and  erasures.  The  last  eight 
pages  only,  betray  what  Cicero  terms  the  vacillantibus 
litterulis  of  age  and  infirmity,  though  they  also  are  per- 
fectly legible.  They  must  have  been  written  in  the  Doc- 
tor's eighty-fourth  year,  and  in  the  intervals  of  those  in- 
tense pains  with  which  the  latter  days  of  his  life  were 
tortured. 

The  MS.  came  into  my  possession  half  bound  in  red 
morocco,  with  a  memorandum,  which  has  already  been 
cited,  inscribed  on  fly-leaves  in  French  and  in  English. 

As  a  part  of  the  history  of  this  manuscript,  it  is  proper 
that  I  should  add  the  following  memorandum,  furnished 
me  in  French  by  M.  de  Senarmont  himself: 

"  Note  on  the  autograph  ma?iuscript  of  the  Memoirs  of 
Benjamin  Franklin. 

**  The  manuscript  of  the  Memoirs  of  Franklin  is  a  folio 
of  220  pages,  written  with  a  half  page  margin  on  paper 
not  of  uniform  size. 

"  M.  le  Veillard,  gentleman  in  ordinary  "of  the  king, 
and  Mayor  of  Passy,  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Frank- 
lin. He  had  lived  in  daily  intercourse  with  him  at  Passy, 
near  Paris,  during  the  Doctor's  residence  in  France,  at 
the  epoch  of  the  American  War  of  Independence.  At 
the  departure  of  his  friend,  he  accompanied  him  to  the 
ship  on  which  Franklin  embarked  for  America,  and  it 
was  from  his  own  countrv  that  the  Doctor  sent  him,  as  a 
token  of  his  friendship,  the  copy  of  his  Memoirs,  subse- 
quently exchanged  for  the  original. 

"  The    original    manuscript  is   unique.     Mr.  William 


/ 


68 

Temple  Franklin,  grandson  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  re- 
ceived it  at  the  death  of  his  grandfather,  who  had  left 
him  all  his  writings.  When  William  Temple  returned 
to  France  to  prepare  the  edition  which  he  published,  he 
requested  of  Madame  le  Veillard  her  copy  to  print  from 
because  it  appeared  more  convenient  for  the  printer,  on 
account  of  its  neatness.  He  gave  to  Mad.  le  Veillard  in 
exchange  the  original  manuscript  entirely  written  by  the 
hand  of  Franklin. 

"  The  original  was,  however,  more  complete  than  the 
copy,  which  Mr.  Temple  had  not  verified.  Proof  of  this 
may  be  found  in  the  second  volume  of  the  small  edition 
of  the  Memoirs,  in  two  volumes  in  i8mo.,  published  by 
Jules  Renouard,  at  Paris,  in  1828.  One  may  there  read, 
it  the  commencement  of  a  continuation  which  then  ap- 
peared for  the  first  time,  a  note,  page  1,  where  the  editor 
states  that  this  continuation  was  communicated  to  them 
by  the  Le  Veillard  family.* 

44  The  simple  inspection  demonstrates  the  authenticity 
of  the  manuscript,  in  support  of  which  may  be  furnished 
other  positive  proofs,  drawn  from  the  different  pieces  ac- 
companying it,  such  as — 


*  The  note  here  referred  to,  translated,  reads  as  follows :  "  We  pub- 
lish for  the  first  time  this  piece,  which  had  never  been  published  in 
English  or  French.  It  is  translated  from  the  original  manuscript  which 
served  for  the  English  edition  which  William  Temple  Franklin  pub- 
lished in  181 8,  of  the  Memoirs  of  his  grandfather.  This  manuscript 
belongs  to  the  family  of  M.  le  Veillard,  an  intimate  friend  of  Franklin, 
ana  we  owe  the  communication  of  it  to  M.  de  S.,  one  of  the  members 
of  this  honorable  family." 

The  M.  de  S.  here  referred  to,  I  presume,  was  the  father  of  the  M. 
P.  de  Senarmont  from  whom  I  received  the  Memoirs  and  the  memo- 
randum now  under  the  reader's  eye. 


69 

**  The  three  letters  of  Dr.  Franklin  to  M.  le  Veillarcl ; 
three  letters  from  Mr.  William  Temple  to  the  same ;  and 
various  letters  from  Benjamin  Franklin  Bache,  Sarah 
Bache,  his  wife,*  and  from  a  bookseller  who  wished  to 
purchase  the  manuscript  of  M.  le  Veillard  in  i79i.f 

u  M.  le  Veillard,  who  is  the  author  of  the  French  trans- 
lation of  the  Memoirs  of  Franklin, }  has  preserved  the 
autograph  manuscript,  with  a  sentiment  corresponding 
with  that  which  determined  his  friend  to  send  him  the 
MS.  copy. 

11  After  the  death  of  M.  le  Veillard,  who  perished  on 
the  Revolutionary  scaffold  in   1794,  the  MS.  went  to  his 


*  Sarah  Bache  was  the  mother,  not  the  wife,  of  Benj.  F.  Bache. 
t  The  bookseller  here  referred  to  is  Buisson,  who  published  the  first 
edition  of  the  Memoirs,  in  French,  in  1791.     His  note  reads  as  follows : 

Sir  : — I  learn  that  you  have  manuscripts  relating  to  the  life  of  Dr. 
Franklin.  If  it  is  your  intention  to  dispose  of  them,  I  offer  to  become 
*heir  purchaser. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  humble  and  obedient  servant, 
Buisson,' 
Bookseller,  Rue  Hautefeuille,  No.  2. 

I  want  a  word  of  reply,  if  you  please. 
Paris,  26  June,  1791. 

What  reply  was  made  to  this  application  will  probably  never  be  known. 
That  the  MS.  was  not  sold  is  certain,  for  we  know  it  was  afterward  ex- 
changed for  the  autograph. 

On  the  other  hand,  M.  le  Veillard,  in  his  note  to  the  Journal  de  Paris, 
quoted  above,  distinctly  says  t*,iat  he  not  only  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
translation,  but  did  not  know  how  the  translator  had  been  able  to  pro- 
cure the  manuscript  from  which  to  make  it 

%  M.  de  Senarmont  is  evidently  in  error  in  attributing  the  French 
translation  that  was  printed  in  1791  to  M.  le  Veillard.  M.  le  Veillard 
made  a  translation ;  but  it  must  have  been  printed  subsequently,  if  at 
all.     See  note  to  page  43. 


daughter.  At  her  death,  in  1834,  it  became  the  property 
of  her  cousin,  M.  de  Senarmont,  whose  grandson  de- 
livered it,  on  the  26th  January,  1867,  to  Mr.  John  Bigelow, 
late  Minister  of  the  United  States  at  Paris. 

"  The  manuscript  is  accompanied  by  a  beautiful  portrait 
in  pastel  by  Duplessis.  Franklin  sat  for  this  portrait 
during  his  sojourn  at  Passy,  and  presented  it  himself  to 
M.  le  Veillard. 

"  (Signed)  L.  de  Senarmont. 

"Paris,  l^jth  January,  1867." 

In  addition  to  the  continuation  of  the  Memoirs  which 
was  overlooked  by  William  Temple  Franklin,  already 
referred  to,  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  in  the  Le  Veil- 
lard collection  a  skeleton  sketch  of  the  topics  which  Dr. 
Franklin  originally  proposed  to  treat  in  the  Autobiog- 
raphy. It  was,  doubtless,  the  first  outline  of  the  work. 
It  is  written  upon  a  letter  sheet,  the  first  three  pages  in 
black  ink  and  in  the  hand  of  a  copyist,  while  the  continu- 
ation of  seven  lines  on  the  fourth  page,  beginning  with 
"  Hutchinson's  Letters,"  are  in  red  ink,  and  in  the  hand 
of  Franklin  himself. 

A  line  is  drawn  with  a  pen  through  the  middle  of  the 
first  page  of  the  manuscript  down  to  the  words :  "  Li- 
brary  erected — manner  of  conducting  the  project — its 
flan  and  utility  T  As  these  are  the  topics  which  con- 
clude the  first  part  of  the  Memoirs,  terminating  at  page 
87  of  the  manuscript,  the  line  was  probably  drawn  by 
Franklin  when  he  had  reached  that  stage  of  his  work,  that 
lie  might  the  more  easily  know  with  what  topic  to  resume 
it  when  he  should  have  occasion  to  do  so. 

I  give  this  Outline  as  an  introduction  to  the  Memoirs. 


7i 

It  will  be  found  extremely  interesting,  first,  as  showing 
liow  systematically  Franklin  set  about  the  execution  of 
the  task  of  which  these  Memoirs  are  the  result ;  and, 
secondly,  for  the  notions  it  gives  us  of  the  unexecuted 
portion  of  his  plan.* 

The  printed  manuscript  ends  with  his  departure  to  Eng- 
land as  agent  of  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania,  to  settle  the 
disputes  about  the  proprietary  taxes  in  i757»  while  the 
Outline  comes  down  to  the  conclusion  of  his  diplomatic 
career,  of  course  embracing  the  most  interesting  portion  of 
his  life. 

This  volume  is  embellished  by  a  portrait  of  Franklin, 
engraved  from  the  pastel  by  Duplessis  in  the  Le  Veillard 
Collection.  Franklin  sat  for  it  to  Duplessis  in  1783,  and 
presented  it  to  his  friend,  Le  Veillard.  At  the  bottom  of 
the  old  gilt  frame,  in  front,  is  the  following  inscription 
upon  the  frame : 

"BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN, 

"A    77   ANS, 

"  Peint  par  Jh  Sd  Duplessis, 

"  1783. 

"Donne"  par  Franklin  lui-meme." 

On  the  back  is  the  following  memorandum,  placed 
there,  doubtless,  by  M.  le  Veillard : 


*  The  glimpse  given  in  this  Outline  of  Franklin's  habits  of  composi- 
tion tempts  me  to  refer  the  reader  to  an  extract  from  a  letter  which  Dr. 
Franklin  wrote  to  Mr.  Vaughan  in  1789,  in  which,  at  Mr.  Vaughan's 
request,  he  gives  him  some  counsel  on  the  subject  of  his  style.  What 
he  says  will  help  the  reader  to  comprehend  the  uses  for  which  the  Out 
line  referred  to  in  the  text  was  prepared.     See  vol.  iii.,  p.  440. 


72 

Benjamin  Franklin,  a.  77  ans  ;  peint  en  1783  par  Duplessis ; 
donne  par  Franklin  lui-meme  a  M.  Louis  le  Veillard,  gentil- 
homme  ordinaire  de  la  Reine,  son  ami  et  son  voisin  a.  Passy. 

Joseph  Siffred  Duplessis,  Academicien,  neaCharpentray,  s'est 
distingue  par  une  belle  intelligence,  les  effets  de  la  lumiere  sur 
les  chairs  et  accessoires,  un  pinceau  large,  bien  senti,  et  un 
( oloris  vrai.  Les  personnages  de  distinction  dans  ses  portraits 
sont  poses  avec  noblesse  etdans  des  attitudes  bien  choisies.  II 
a  peint  le  portrait  de  Louis  XVL,  ceux  de  M.  et  Mme.  Necker, 
et  de  plusieurs  grands  de  la  Cour. — Les  trois  siecles  de  la  pein- 
ture  de  la  France,  par  Gault  de  St.  Germain.  1808. — Swiback, 
l'eleve  le  plus  distingue  de  Duplessis,  a  surpasse  son  maitre. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  can  more  appropriately  conclude 
this  bibliographical  summary  than  by  quoting  a  few  pas- 
sages from  the  introduction  to  the  Memoirs  of  Franklin 
by  the  late  Edward  Laboulaye,  which  appeared  in  Paris 
in  1866.*  The  translation  of  the  Memoirs  and  corre- 
spondence of  Franklin  was  one  of  the  many  ways  by 
which  this  distinguished  jurist  contributed,  during  out 
late  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  our  Federal  Union,  to 
keep  alive  in  France  that  friendship  for  the  United  States 
which  Franklin,  more  than  any  other  one  person,  had  the 
merit  of  inspiring,  and  to  which,  for  the  second  time, 
we  have  been  largely  beholden  for  our  national  exist- 
ence : 

"  What  constitutes  the  charm  of  the  Memoirs  is  not  the 
recital  of  events,  which  are  of  the  most  ordinary  charac- 
ter ;  it  is  the  reflections  which  accompany  their  recital. 


*  Memoires  de  Benjamin  Franklin,  Merits  par  lui-meme,  traduits  de 
I'Anglais  et  annotes  par  Edouard  Laboulaye,  de  l'lnstitut  de  France. 
Paris,  Libraire  de  L.  Hachette  &  Cie.  1866. 


73 

Franklin  is  a  born  moralist.  The  first  letter  he  writes  to 
his  sister  is  a  sermon  on  the  virtues  of  a  good  house- 
keepei.  The  penitent  is  fifteen  and  the  preacher  twenty. 
From  this  moment  to  his  death  Franklin  did  not  change. 
He  is  always  the  man  who  reasons  out  his  conduct — the 
sage  who,  following  the  ingenious  definition  of  Mr.  Ban- 
croft, never  said  a  word  too  soon  nor  a  word  too  late. 
He  never  said  a  word  too  much,  nor  failed  to  say  the 
decisive  word  at  the  proper  moment.  In  his  letters  how 
many  moral  lessons,  given  with  as  much  gayety  as  power  ! 
It  is  not  an  author  one  reads ;  he  is  a  friend  to  whom  one 
listens.  There  is  Franklin,  with  his  venerable  face,  his 
hair  floating  back,  and  his  eye  always  shrewd  and  quick, 
presenting  altogether  one  of  the  most  amiable  figures  of 
the  last  century.  How  many  prejudices  he  playfully  dis- 
sipated !  how  he  rallied  the  selfishness  of  individuals  and 
the  artifices  of  governments,  which  are  but  another  form 
of  selfishness !  Do  not  ask  of  him  anything  sublime,  nor 
expect  from  him  those  bursts  which  raise  you  above  the 
passing  world.  Franklin  never  quits  the  earth  ;  it  is  not 
genius  in  him  ;  it  is  good  sense  expressed  in  its  highest 
power.  Do  not  seek  in  him  a  poet,  nor  even  an  orator, 
but  a  master  of  practical  life — a  man  to  whom  the  world 
belongs.  Neither  imagine  you  have  to  do  with  a  vulgar, 
worldly  wisdom.  This  amiable  mocker,  who  laughs  at 
everything,  is  not  the  less  kind-hearted,  a  devoted  patriot, 
and  one  of  the  sincerest  friends  of  humanity.  His  laugh 
is  not  that  of  Voltaire ;  there  is  no  bitterness  in  it ;  it  is 
the  benevolent  smile  of  an  old  man  whom  life  has  taught, 
to  be  indulgent.  In  noting  without  vanity  what  he  terms 
his   errata  of  conduct,  Franklin  teaches  us  that  no   one 

has  a   right  to  judge  another  severely,  and  that  in   the 
7  D 


74 

most  correct  life  there  is  always  many  a  page  to  correct. 
It  is  thus  that  he  humbles  himself  to  us  to  encourage  us. 
He  is  a  companion  who  takes  us  by  the  hand,  and,  talking 
with  us  familiarly,  little  by  little,  makes  us  blush  at  our 
weaknesses,  and  communicates  to  us  something  of  his 
warmth  and  goodness.  Such  are  the  effects  wrought  b) 
Perusing  the  Memoirs,  and  still  more  by  the  correspond- 
ence— most  strengthening  reading  for  all  ages  and  condi- 
tions. No  one  ever  started  from  a  lower  point  than  the 
poor  apprentice  of  Boston.  No  one  ever  raised  himself 
higher  by  his  own  unaided  forces  than  the  inventor  of 
the  lightning-rod.  No  one  has  rendered  greater  service 
to  his  country  than  the  diplomatist  who  signed  the  treaty 
of  1783,  and  assured  the  independence  of  the  United 
States.  Better  than  the  biographies  of  Plutarch,  this 
life,  so  long  and  so  well  filled,  is  a  source  of  perpetual 
instruction  to  all  men.  Every  one  can  there  find  counsel 
and  example.  *  *  *  *  Franklin  has  never  played 
a  part — neither  with  others  nor  with  himself.  He  says 
what  he  thinks ;  he  does  what  he  says.  He  knows  but 
one  road  which  leads  from  destitution  to  fortune.  He 
knows  of  but  one  mode  to  arrive  at  happiness,  or,  at  least, 
to  contentment ;  it  is  by  labor,  economy,  and  probity. 
Such  is  the  receipt  he  gives  to  his  readers ;  but  this 
receipt  he  commenced  by  trying  himself.  We  can  believe 
in  a  secret  with  which  he  himself  succeeded.  In  oui 
democratic  society,  where  every  one  seeks  to  better  his 
condition — a  very  legitimate  purpose — nothing  is  worth 
so  much  as  the  example  and  the  lessons  of  a  man  who, 
without  influence  and  without  fortune,  became  master 
after  having  been  a  laborer — gave  himself  the  education 
which   he   lacked,  and,  by  force   of  toil,  privations  and 


75 

courage,  raised  himself  to  the  first  rank  in  his  country, 
and  conquered  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the  human 
race.  To  have  the  talent  of  Franklin,  or  to  be  favored  as 
he  was  by  events,  is  not  given  to  all ;  but  every  one  may 
have  the  honor  of  following  such  a  model,  even  without 
the  hope  of  reaching  it." 

In  submitting  these  memoirs  to  the  world  I  am  encour- 
aged by  the  reflection  that  there  never  was  a  time  in  the 
history  of  our  country  when  the  lessons  of  humility,  econ- 
omy, industry,  toleration,  charity,  and  patriotism,  which 
are  made  so  captivating  in  its  pages,  could  be  studied 
with  more  profit  by  the  rising  generation  of  Americans 
than  now.  They  have  burdens  to  bear  unknown  to  their 
ancestors,  and  problems  of  government  to  solve  unknown 
to  history.  All  the  qualities,  moral  and  intellectual,  that 
are  requisite  for  a  successful  encounter  with  these  por- 
tentous responsibilities  were  singularly  united  in  the  cha- 
racter of  Franklin,  and  nothing  in  our  literature  is  so  well 
calculated  to  reproduce  them  as  his  own  deliberate  record 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  laid  the  foundation  at  once  of 
his  own  and  of  his  country's  greatness. 

All  the  notes  to  the  autobiography  proper,  not  credited 
to  other  sources,  are  from  the  manuscript,  and,  of  course, 
in  Franklin's  handwriting. 

All  the  notes  signed  u  Ed."  are  by  the  Editor. 

Those  signed  "  W.  T.  F."  are  by  William  Temple 
Franklin. 

Those  signed  "  S."  or  "  Sparks,"  are  from  Dr.  Sparks' 
precious  Collection  of  the  Writings  of  Franklin. 

Those  signed  "  B.  V."  are  by  Benjamin  Vaughan. 


76 

I  have  rigorously  followed  the  orthography  of  the  MS. ; 

not  that  I  attach  much  importance  to  this  comparatively 

mechanical  feature  of  the  work,  but  because  I  thought  it 

would  be  more  satisfactory  to  most  of  my  readers  to  know 

how  Franklin  wrote  his  autobiography  than  to  know  how 

it  would  have  been  written  by  Webster  or  Worcester. 

JOHN  BIGELOW. 
The  Squirrels,  February  22,  1874. 


PART    I. 


[Copu  d^un  Projit  tres  Curieux  de  Benjamin  Franklin — i"» 
Esquisse  de  ses  Memoires.  Les  additions  a  Vencre  rouge 
sont  de  la  ?nain  de  Franklin^  * 

My  writing.  Mrs.  Dogood's  letters.  Differences  arise  between  my 
Brother  and  me  (his  temper  and  mine) ;  their  cause  in  general.  His 
Newspaper.  The  Prosecution  he  suffered.  My  Examination.  Vote 
of  Assembly.  His  manner  of  evading  it  Whereby  I  became  free.  My 
attempt  to  get  employ  with  other  Printers.  He  prevents  me.  Our  fre- 
quent pleadings  before  our  Father.  The  final  Breach.  My  Induce- 
ments to  quit  Boston.  Manner  of  coming  to  a  Resolution.  My  leaving 
him  and  going  to  New  York  (return  to  eating  flesh) ;  thence  to  Penn- 
sylvania. The  journey,  and  its  events  on  the  Bay,  at  Amboy.  The  roid. 
Meet  with  Dr.  Brown.  His  character.  His  great  work.  At  Burlington. 
The  Good  Woman.  On  the  River.  My  Arrival  at  Philadelphia.  First 
Meal  and  first  Sleep.  Money  left.  Employment  Lodging.  First  ac- 
quaintance with  my  afterward  Wife.  With  J.  Ralph.  With  Keimer. 
Their  characters.  Osborne.  Watson.  The  Governor  takes  notice  of 
me.  The  Occasion  and  Manner.  His  character.  Offers  to  set  me  up. 
My  return  to  Boston.  Voyage  and  accidents.  Reception.  My  Father 
dislikes  the  proposal.  I  return  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Gov- 
ernor Burnet.  J.  Collins.  The  Money  for  Vernon.  The  Governor's 
Deceit     Collins  not  finding  employment  goes  to  Barbados  much  in  my 


*  This  memorandum,  probably  in  the  handwriting  of  M    le  Veillard,  immediate]" 
precedes  the  Outline  in  the  MS. 

7*  77 


78 

Debt  Ralph  and  I  go  to  England.  Disappointment  of  Governors 
Letters.  Colonel  French  his  Friend.  Cornwallis's  Letters.  Cabbin. 
Denharn.  Hamilton.  Arrival  in  England.  Get  employment.  Ralph 
not.  He  is  an  expense  to  me.  Adventures  in  England.  Write  a  Pam- 
phlet and  print  ioo.  Schemes.  Lyons.  Dr.  Pemberton.  My  diligence, 
and  yet  poor  through  Ralph.  My  Landlady.  Her  character.  Wygate. 
Wilkes.  Cibber.  Plays.  Books  I  borrowed.  Preachers  I  heard. 
Redmayne.  At  Watts's.  Temperance.  Ghost.  Conduct  and  Influ- 
ence among  the  Men.  Persuaded  by  Mr.  Denham  to  return  with  him 
to  Philadelphia  and  be  his  clerk.  Our  voyage  and  arrival.  My  resolu- 
tions in  Writing.  My  Sickness.  His  Death.  Found  D.  R.  married. 
Go  to  work  again  with  Keimer.  Terms.  His  ill  usage  of  me.  My 
Resentment.  Saying  of  Decow.  My  Friends  at  Burlington.  Agree- 
ment with  H.  Meredith  to  set  up  in  Partnership.  Do  so.  Success  with 
the  Assembly.  Hamilton's  Friendship.  Sewell's  History.  Gazette. 
Paper  money.  Webb.  Writing  Busy  Body.  Breintnal.  Godfrey.  His 
Character.  Suit  against  us.  Offer  of  my  Friends,  Coleman  and  Grace. 
Continue  the  Business,  and  M.  goes  to  Carolina.  Pamphlet  on  Paper 
Money.  Gazette  from  Keimer.  Junto  credit ;  its  plan.  Marry.  Li- 
brary erected.  Manner  of  conducting  the  project.  Its  plan  and  utility. 
Children.  Almanac  The  use  I  made  of  it  Great  industry.  Constant 
study.  Father's  Remark  and  Advice  upon  Diligence.  Carolina  Part- 
nership. Learn  French  and  German.  Journey  to  Boston  after  ten  years. 
Affection  of  my  Brother.  His  Death,  and  leaving  me  his  Son.  Art  of 
Virtue.  Occasion.  City  Watch  amended.  Post-office.  Spotswood. 
Bradford's  Behavior.  Clerk  of  Assembly.  Lose  one  of  my  Sons.  Pro- 
ject of  subordinate  Juntos.  Write  occasionally  in  the  papers.  Success 
in  Business.  Fire  companies.  Engines.  Go  again  to  Boston  in  1743. 
See  Dr.  Spence.  Whitefield.  My  connection  with  him.  His  generosity 
to  me.  My  returns.  Church  Differences.  My  part  in  them.  Propose 
a  College.  Not  then  prosecuted.  Propose  and  establish  a  Philosophical 
Society.  War.  Electricity.  My  first  knowledge  of  it  Partnership 
with  D.  Hall,  &c.  Dispute  in  Assembly  upon  Defence.  Project  for  it. 
Plain  Truth.  Its  success.  Ten  thousand  Men  raised  and  disciplined. 
Lotteries.  Battery  built.  New  Castle.  My  influence  in  the  Council. 
Colors,  Deviees,  and  Mottos.  Ladies'  Military  Watch.  Quakers  chosen 
of  the  Common  Council.  Put  in  the  commission  of  the  peace.  Logan 
fond  of  me.  His  Library.  Appointed— Postmaster-General.  Chosen 
Assemblyman.  Commissioner  to  treat  with  Indians  at  Carlisle  and  at 
Easton.  Project  and  establish  Academy.  Pamphlet  on  it.  Journey  to 
Boston.     At  Albany.     Plan  of  union  of  the  colonies.     Copy  of  it     Re- 


79 

marks  upon  it.  It  fails,  and  how.  Journey  to  Boston  in  1754.  Dis- 
putes about  it  in  our  AssemDly.  My  part  in  them.  New  Governor. 
Disputes  with  him.  His  character  and  sayings  to  me.  Chosen  Alder- 
man. Project  of  Hospital.  My  share  in  it  Its  success.  Boxes.  Made 
a  Commissioner  of  the  Treasury.  My  commission  to  defend  the  fiontier 
counties.  Raise  Men  and  build  Forts.  Militia  Law  of  my  drawing. 
Made  Colonel.  Parade  of  my  Officers.  Offence  to  Proprietor.  Assist- 
ance to  Boston  Ambassadors.  Journey  with  Shirley,  &c.  Meet  with 
Braddock.  Assistance  to  him.  To  the  Officers  of  his  Army.  Furnish 
him  with  Forage.  His  concessions  to  me  and  character  of  me.  Success 
of  my  Electrical  Experiments.  Medal  sent  me.  Present  Royal  Society, 
and  Speech  of  President.  Denny's  Arrival  and  Courtship  to  me.  His 
character.  My  service  to  the  Army  in  the  affair  of  Quarters.  Disputes 
about  the  Proprietor's  Taxes  continued.  Project  for  paving  the  City. 
I  am  sent  to  England. WNegotiation  there.  Canada  deletida  est.  My 
Pamphlet  Its  reception  and  effect.  Projects  drawn  from  me  concern- 
ing the  Conquest.  Acquaintance  made  and  their  services  to  me — Mrs. 
S.  M.  Small,  Sir  John  P.,  Mr.  Wood,  Sargent  Strahan,  and  others. 
Their  characters.  Doctorate  from  Edinburgh,  St.  Andrew's.  Doctorate 
from  Oxford.  Journey  to  Scotland.  Lord  Leicester.  Mr.  Prat  De 
Grey.  Jackson.  State  of  Affairs  in  England.  Delays.  Eventful  Journey 
into  Holland  and  Flanders.  Agency  from  Maryland.  Son's  appoint- 
ment My  Return.  Allowance  and  thanks.  Journey  to  Boston.  John 
Penn,  Governor.  My  conduct  toward  him.  The  Paxton  Murders.  My 
Pamphlet  Rioters  march  to  Philadelphia.  Governor  retires  to  my 
House.  My  conduct.  Sent  out  to  the  Insurgents.  Turn  them  back. 
Little  thanks.  Disputes  revived.  Resolutions  against  continuing  under 
Proprietary  Government.  Another  Pamphlet.  Cool  thoughts.  Sent 
again  to  England  with  Petition.  Negotiation  there.  Lord  H.  His 
character.  Agencies  from  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  Massachusetts.  Jour- 
ney into  Germany,  1766.  Civilities  received  there.  Gottingen  Obser- 
vations. Ditto  into  France  in  1767.  Ditto  in  1769.  Entertainment 
there  at  the  Academy.  Introduced  to  the  King  and  the  Mesdames, 
Mad.  Victoria  and  Mrs.  Lamagnon.  Due  de  Chaulnes,  M.  Beaumont 
Le  Roy,  D'Alibard,  Nollet  See  Journals.  Holland.  Reprint  my 
papers  and  add  many.  Books  presented  to  me  from  many  authors.  My 
Book  translated  into  French.  Lightning  Kite.  Various  Discoveries. 
My  manner  of  prosecuting  that  Study.  King  of  Denmark  invites  me 
to  dinner.  Recollect  my  Father's  Proverb.  Stamp  Act.  My  opposition 
to  it  Recommendation  of  J.  Hughes.  Amendment  of  it.  Examina- 
tion in  Parliament.     Reputation  it  gave  me.     Caressed  by  Ministry. 


8o 


Charles  Townsend's  Act.  Opposition  to  it  Stoves  and  chimney-plates. 
Armonica.  Acquaintance  with  Ambassadors.  Russian  Intimation. 
Writing  in  newspapers.  Glasses  from  Germany.  Grant  of  Land  in 
Nova  Scotia.  Sicknesses.  Letters  to  America  returned  hither.  The 
consequences.  Insurance  Office.  My  character.  Costs  me  nothing  to 
be  civil  to  inferiors  ;  a  good  deal  to  be  submissive  to  superiors,  &c,  &c. 
Farce  of  Perpetual  Motion.  Writing  for  Jersey  Assembly.  Hutchin 
son's  Letters.  Temple.  Suit  in  Chancery.  Abuse  before  the  Privy 
Council.  Lord  Hillsborough's  character  and  conduct.  Lord  Dart- 
mouth. Negotiation  to  prevent  the  War.  Return  to  America.  Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph.  Congress.  Assembly.  Committee  of  Safety.  Chevaux* 
de-frise.  Sent  to  Boston,  to  the  Camp.  To  Canada,  to  Lord  Hone 
To  Frame.     Treaty,  &c 


The  Autobiography. 


Twyford,  at  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph's*  1771. 

DEAR  SON :  I  have  ever  had  pleasure  in  ob- 
taining any  little  anecdotes  of  my  ancestors. 
You  may  remember  the  inquiries  I  made  among  the 
remains  of  my  relations  when  you  were  with  me  in 
England,  and  the  journey  I  undertook  for  that  pur- 
pose. Imagining  it  may  be  equally  agreeable  tof 
you  to  know  the  circumstances  of  my  life,  many  of 
which  you  are  yet  unacquainted  with,  and  expecting 
the  enjoyment  of  a  week's  uninterrupted  leisure  in 
my  present  country  retirement,  I  sit  down  to  write 
them  for  you.  To  which  I  have  besides  some  other 
inducements.  Having  emerged  from  the  poverty 
and  obscurity  in  which  I  was  born  and  bred,  to  a 
state  of  affluence  and  some  degree  of  reputation  in 
the  world,  and  having  gone  so  far  through  life  with 
a  considerable  share  of  felicity,  the  conducing  means 
I  made  use  of,  which  with  the  blessing  of  God  so 


*  The   country-seat   of  Bishop   Shipley,   the   good   bishop,   as   Dr. 
Franklin  used  to  style  him. — Ed. 

t  After  the  words  "  agreeable  to  "  the  words  "  some  of"  were  interlined 
and  afterward  effaced. — Ed. 

d*  81 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

well  succeeded,  my  posterity  may  like  to  know,  as 
they  may  find  some  ol  them  suitable  to  their  own 
situations,  and  therefore  fit  to  be  imitated. 

That  felicity,  when  I  reflected  on  it,  has  induced 
me  sometimes  to  say,  that  were  it  offered  to  my 
choice,  I  should  have  no  objection  to  a  repetition  of 
the  same  life  from  its  beginning,  only  asking  the 
advantages  authors  have  in  a  second  edition  to  cor- 
rect some  faults  of  the  first.  So  I  might,  besides 
correcting  the  faults,  change  some  sinister  accidents 
and  events  of  it  for  others  more  favorable.  But 
though  this  were  denied,  I  should  still  accept  the 
offer.  Since  such  a  repetition  is  not  to  be  expected, 
the  next  thing  most  like  living  one's  life  over  again 
seems  to  be  a  recollection  of  that  life,  and  to  make 
that  recollection  as  durable  as  possible  by  putting  it 
down  in  writing. 

Hereby,  too,  I  shall  indulge  the  inclination  so 
natural  in  old  men,  to  be  talking  of  themselves  and 
their  own  past  actions ;  and  I  shall  indulge  it  with- 
out being  tiresome  to  others,  wrho,  through  respect  to 
age,  might  conceive  themselves  obliged  to  give  me 
a  hearing,  since  this  may  be  read  or  not  as  any  one 
pleases.  And,  lastly  ^  (I  may  as  well  confess  it, 
since  my  denial  of  it  will  be  believed  by  nobody), 
perhaps  I  shall  a  good  deal  gratify  my  own  vanity. 
Indeed,  I  scarce  ever  heard  or  saw  the  introductory 
words,  "  Without  vanity  I  may  say"  &c,  but  some 
vain  thing  immediately  followed.  Most  people  dis- 
like vanity  in  others,  whatever  share  they  have,  of 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  83 

it  themselves ;  but  I  give  it  fair  quarter  wherever  I 
meet  with  it,  being  persuaded  that  it  is  often  pro- 
ductive of  good  to  the  possessor,  and  to  others  that 
are  within  his  sphere  of  action ;  and  therefore,  in 
many  cases,  it  would  not  be  altogether  absurd  if  a 
man  were  to  thank  God  for  his  vanity  among  the 
other  comforts  of  life.* 


*  Some  twenty  years  before  he  commenced  his  Memoirs,  Fianklin 
threw  his  mantle  over  this  not  unprofitable  weakness  which  he  termed 
Vanity,  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Jared  Elliott : 

"  Philadelphia,  September  12th,  1751. 

"  Dear  Sir  : 

******** 

What  you  mention  concerning  the  love  of  praise  is  indeed  very  true : 
it  reigns  more  or  less  in  every  heart ;  though  we  are  generally  hypo- 
crites, in  that  respect,  and  pretend  to  disregard  praise,  and  our  nice, 
modest  ears  are  offended,  forsooth  !  with  what  one  of  the  ancients  calls 
the  sweetest  kind  of  music.  This  hypocrisy  is  only  a  sacrifice  to  the 
pride  of  others,  or  to  their  envy,  both  which,  I  think,  ought  rather  to 
be  mortified.  The  same  sacrifice  we  make  when  we  forbear  to  praise 
ourselves,  which  naturally  we  are  all  inclined  to ;  and  I  suppose  it  was 
formerly  the  fashion,  or  Virgil,  that  courtly  writer,  would  not  have  put 
a  speech  into  the  mouth  of  his  hero,  which  now-a-days  we  should  esteem 
so  great  an  indecency  : 

1  Sum  pius  ^Eneas      *      *      * 
*      *      *      fama*  super  aethera  notus.' 

One  of  the  Romans,  I  forget  who,  justified  speaking  in  his  own  praise 
by  saying :  "  Every  freeman  had  a  right  to  speak  what  he  thought  of 
himself,  as  well  as  of  others."  That  this  is  a  natural  inclination  appears 
in  that  all  children  show  it,  and  say  freely,  I  am  a  good  boy ;  am  I  not 
a  good  girl  ?  and  the  like,  till  they  have  been  frequently  chfd,  and  told 
their  trumpeter  is  dead,  and  that  it  is  unbecoming  to  sound  their  own 
praise,  etc.     But 

Naturam  expellas  fiirca\  tamen  usque  recurret 

Being  forbid  to  praise  themselves,  they  learn  instead  of  it  to  censure 


84  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

And  now  I  speak  of  thanking  God,  I  desire  with 
all  humility  to  acknowledge  that  I   owe  the  men- 


others,  which  is  only  a  roundabout  way  of  praising  themselves  ;  for  con- 
demning the  conduct  of  another,  in  any  particular,  amounts  to  as  much 
as  saying,  /  am  so  honest,  or  wise,  or  good,  or  prudent,  that  /  could  not 
do  or  approve  of  such  an  action.  This  fondness  for  ourselves,  rather 
than  malevolence  to  others,  I  take  to  be  the  general  source  of  censure 
a  ad  backbiting ;  and  I  wish  men  had  not  been  taught  to  dam  up  natural 
currents,  to  the  overflowing  and  damage  of  their  neighbor's  grounds. 
Another  advantage,  methinks,  would  arise  from  freely  speaking  our 
good  thoughts  of  ourselves,  viz. :  if  we  were  wrong  in  them,  somebody 
or  other  would  readily  set  us  right ;  but  now,  while  we  conceal  so  care- 
fully our  vain,  erroneous  self-opinions,  we  may  carry  them  to  our  grave, 
for  who  would  offer  physic  to  a  man  that  seems  to  be  in  health  ?  And  the 
privilege  of  recounting  freely  our  own  good  actions  might  be  an  induce- 
ment to  the  doing  of  them,  that  we  might  be  enabled  to  speak  of  them 
without  being  subject  to  be  justly  contradicted  or  charged  with  false- 
hood ;  whereas  now,  as  we  are  not  allowed  to  mention  them,  and  it  is 
an  uncertainty  whether  others  will  take  due  notice  of  them  or  not,  we 
are  perhaps  the  more  indifferent  about  them ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole, 
I  wish  the  out-of-fashion  practice  of  praising  ourselves  would,  like  other 
old  fashions,  come  round  into  fashion  again.  But  this,  /  fear,  will  not  be 
in  our  time.  So  we  must  even  be  contented  with  what  little  praise  we 
can  get  from  one  another.  And  I  will  endeavor  to  make  you  some 
amends  for  the  trouble  of  reading  this  long  scrawl  by  telling  you,  that  I 
have  the  sincerest  esteem  for  you,  as  an  ingenious  young  man,  and  a  good 
one,  which,  together,  make  the  valuable  member  of  society.  As  such, 
I  am  with  great  respect  and  affection,  dear  sir, 

"  Your  obliged,  humble  servant, 

"B.  Franklin." 


There  is,  perhaps,  no  more  interesting  or  profitable  standard  with 
which  to  compare  men  than  the  terms  in  which  they  speak  of  them- 
selves. The  year  that  Franklin  wrote  the  last  pages  of  his  Memoirs. 
Gibbon  commenced  his.  It  is  curious  to  observe  the  different  styles 
in  which  the  diplomatist  and  the  scholar  enumerate  vanity  among  the 
leading  and  legitimate  motives  in  which  the  two  most  fascinating  and 
most  renowned  autobiographies  in  any  language  had  their  origin : 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  85 

tioned  happiness  of  my  past  life  to  His  kind  provi- 
dence, which  lead  me  to  the  means  I  used  and  gave 


"A  lively  desire  of  knowing  and  of  recording  our  ancestors  so  generally 
prevails  that  it  must  depend  on  the  influence  of  some  common  principle 
in  the  minds  of  men.  We  seem  to  have  lived  in  the  persons  of  our  fore- 
fathers ;  it  is  the  labor  and  reward  of  vanity  to  extend  the  term  of  this 
ideal  longevity.  Our  imagination  is  always  active  to  enlarge  the  narrow  I 
circle  in  which  nature  has  confined  us.  Fifty  or  a  hundred  years  may 
be  allotted  to  an  individual ;  but  we  step  forward  beyond  death  with 
such  hopes  as  religion  and  philosophy  will  suggest ;  and  we  fill  up  the 
silent  vacancy  that  precedes  our  birth  by  associating  ourselves  to  the 
authors  of  our  existence.  Our  calmer  judgment  will  rather  tend  to 
moderate  than  to  suppress  the  pride  of  an  ancient  and  worthy  race. 
The  satirist  may  laugh,  the  philosopher  may  preach,  but  Reason  her- 
self will  respect  the  prejudices  and  habits  which  have  been  consecrated 
by  the  experience  of  mankind.  Few  there  are  who  can  sincerely  de- 
spise in  others  an  advantage  of  which  they  are  secretly  ambitious  to 
partake.  The  knowledge  of  our  own  family  from  a  remote  period  will 
be  always  esteemed  as  an  abstract  pre-eminence,  since  it  can  never  be 
promiscuously  enjoyed ;  but  the  longest  series  of  peasants  and  mechanics 
would  not  afford  much  gratification  to  the  pride  of  their  descendant. 
We  wish  to  discover  our  ancestors,  but  we  wish  to  discover  them  pos- 
sessed of  ample  fortunes,  adorned  with  honorable  titles,  and  holding  an 
eminent  rank  in  the  class  of  hereditary  nobles,  which  has  been  main- 
tained for  the  wisest  and  most  beneficial  purposes  in  almost  every  cli- 
mate of  the  globe  and  in  almost  every  modification  of  political  society. 
Wherever  the  distinction  of  birth  is  allowed  to  form  a  superior  order  in 
the  State,  education  and  example  should  always,  and  will  often,  produce 
among  them  a  dignity  of  sentiment  and  propriety  of  conduct,  which  is 
guarded  from  dishonor  by  their  own  and  the  public  esteem.  If  we  read 
of  some  illustrious  line  so  ancient  that  it  has  no  beginning,  so  worthy 
that  it  ought  to  have  no  end,  we  sympathize  in  its  various  fortunes  ;  nor 
can  we  blame  the  generous  enthusiasm,  or  even  the  harmless  vanity,  of 
those  who  are  allied  to  the  honors  of  its  name.  For  my  own  part,  could 
I  draw  my  pedigree  from  a  general,  a  statesman,  or  a  celebrated  author, 
I  should  study  their  lives  with  the  diligence  of  filial  love.  In  the  inves- 
tigation of  past  events,  our  curiosity  is  stimulated  by  the  immediate  or 
indirect  reference  to  ourselves ;  but  in  the  estimate  of  honor  we  should 
learn  to  value  the  gifts  of  nature  above  those  of  fortune ;  to  esteem  in 
8 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

them  success.     My  belief  of  this  induces  me  to  hope, 
though  I  must  not  -presume,  that  the  same  goodness 


our  ancestors  the  qualities  that  best  promote  the  inteiests  of  society; 
and  to  pronounce  the  descendant  of  a  king  less  truly  noble  than  the  off- 
spring of  a  man  of  genius,  whose  writings  will  instruct  or  delight  the 
latest  posterity.  The  family  of  Confucius  is  in  my  opinion  the  most 
illustrious  in  the  world.  After  a  painful  ascent  of  eight  or  ten  centuries, 
our  barons  and  princes  of  Europe  are  lost  in  the  darkness  of  the  Middle 
Ages ;  but  in  the  vast  equality  of  the  empire  of  China  the  posterity  of 
Confucius  have  maintained,  above  two  thousand  two  hundred  years, 
their  peaceful  honors  and  perpetual  succession.  The  chief  of  the  family 
is  still  revered,  by  the  sovereign  and  the  people,  as  the  lively  image  of 
the  wisest  of  mankind.  The  nobility  of  the  Spencers  has  been  illus 
trated  and  enriched  by  the  trophies  of  Marlborough  ;  but  I  exhort  them 
to  consider  the  Faery  Queen*  as  the  most  precious  jewel  of  their  coronet 
Our  immortal  Fielding  was  of  the  younger  branch  of  the  Earls  of  Denbigh, 
vvno  draw  their  origin  from  the  Counts  of  Hapsburg,the  lineal  descendants 
of  Enrico,  in  the  seventh  century,  Duke  of  Alsace.  Far  different  have 
been  the  fortunes  of  the  English  and  German  divisions  of  the  family  of 
Hapsburg  :  the  former,  the  Knights  and  Sheriffs  of  Leicestershire,  have 
slowly  risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  peerage ;  the  latter,  the  Emperors  of  Ger- 
many and  Kings  of  Spain,  have  threatened  the  liberty  of  the  Old,  and 
invaded  the  treasures  of  the  New  World.  The  successors  of  Charles 
the  Fifth  may  disdain  their  brethren  of  England  ;  but  the  romance  of 
.  Tom  Jones,  that  exquisite  picture  of  human  manners,  will  outlive  the 
palace  of  the  Escurial  and  the  imperial  eagle  of  the  house  of  Austria. 
That  these  sentiments  are  just,  or  at  least  natural,  I  am  the  more  in- 
clined to  believe  as  I  am  not  myself  interested  in  the  cause  ;  for  I  can 
derh  e  from  my  ancestors  neither  glory  nor  shame.  Yet  a  sincere  and 
simple  narrative  of  my  own  life  may  amuse  some  of  my  leisure  hours  ; 
but  it  will  subject  me,  and  perhaps  with  justice,  to  the  imputation  of 
vanity.  I  may  judge,  however,  from  the  experience  both  of  past  and  of 
the  present  times,  that  the  public  are  always  curious  to  know  the  men 
who  have  left  behind  them  any  image  of  their  minds ;  the  most  scanty 

*  Nor  less  praiseworthy  are  the  ladies  three, 
The  honor  of  that  noble  familie, 
Of  which  I  meanest  boast  myself  to  be. 

m  Spenser,  Colin  Clout,  S-v.,  v.  538* 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  8; 

will  still  be  exercised  toward  me,  in  continuing  that 
happiness,  or  enabling  me  to  bear  a  fatal  reverse, 


accounts  of  such  men  are  compiled  with  diligence  and  perused  with 
eagerness ;  and  the  student  of  every  class  may  derive  a  lesson,  or  an 
example,  from  the  lives  most  similar  to  his  own.  My  name  may  here- 
after be  placed  among  the  thousand  articles  of  a  Biographia  Britannica  ; 
and  I  must  be  conscious  that  no  one  is  so  well  qualified  as  myself  to 
describe  the  series  of  my  thoughts  and  actions.  The  authority  of  my 
masters,  of  the  grave  Thuanus  and  the  philosophic  Hume,  might  be 
sufficient  to  justify  my  design;  but  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  pro- 
duce a  long  list  of  ancients  and  moderns  who,  in  various  forms,  have 
exhibited  their  own  portraits.  Such  portraits  are  often  the  most  in- 
teresting, and  sometimes  the  only  interesting,  parts  of  their  writings ; 
and,  if  they  be  sincere,  we  seldom  complain  of  the  minuteness  or  pro- 
lixity of  these  personal  memorials.  The  lives  of  the  younger  Pliny,  of 
Petrarch  and  of  Erasmus,  are  expressed  in  the  epistles  which  they 
themselves  have  given  to  the  world ;  the  essays  of  Montaigne  and  Sir 
William  Temple  bring  us  home  to  the  houses  and  bosoms  of  the  au- 
thors. "We  smile  without  contempt  at  the  headstrong  passions  of  Benve- 
nuto  Cellini  and  the  gay  follies  of  Colley  Cibber.  The  Confessions  of 
St.  Austin  and  Rousseau  disclose  the  secrets  of  the  human  heart ;  the 
Commentaries  of  the  learned  Huet  have  survived  his  evangelical  demon- 
stration ;  and  the  Memoirs  of  Goldoni  are  more  truly  dramatic  than  his 
Italian  comedies.  The  heretic  and  the  churchman  are  strongly  marked 
in  the  characters  and  fortunes  of  Whiston  and  Bishop  Newton ;  and 
even  the  dullness  of  Michael  de  Marolles  and  Anthony  Wood  acquires 
some  value  from  the  faithful  representation  of  men  and  manners.  That 
I  am  equal  or  superior  to  some  of  these,  the  effects  of  modesty  or  affec- 
tation cannot  force  me  to  dissemble." 

Hume,  whose  account  of  his  own  life  was  written  in  1776,  the  year  he 
died,  and  five  years  after  Franklin's  was  begun,  commences  and  con- 
cludes his  less  pretending  story  with  a  similar  confession.  He  com- 
mences by  saying : 

"  It  is  difficult  for  a  man  to  speak  long  of  himself  without,  vanity ; 
therefore  I  shall  be  short.  It  may  be  thought  an  instance  of  vanity  that 
I  pretend  at  all  to  write  my  life  ;  but  this  narrative  shall  contain  little 
more  than  the  history  of  my  writings,  as,  indeed,  almost  all  my  life  has 
been  spent  in  literary  pursuits  and  occupations.  The  first  success  of 
most  oi  my  writings  was  not  such  as  to  be  an  object  of  \anity." 


88  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

which  I  may  experience  as  others  have  done ;  the 
complexion  of  my  future  fortune  being  known  to  Him 
only  in  whose  power  it  is  to  bless  to  us  even  our 
afflictions. 

The  notes  one  of  my  uncles  (who  had  the  same 
kind  of  curiosity  in  collecting  family  anecdotes)  once 
put  into  my  hands,  furnished  me  with  several  par- 
ticulars relating  to  our  ancestors.  From  these  notes  I 
learned  that  the  family  had  lived  in  the  same  vil- 
lage, Ecton,  in  Northamptonshire,*  for  three  hundred 
years,  and  how  much  longer  he  knew  not  (perhaps 
from  the  time  when  the  name  of  Franklin,  that  be- 

He  concludes  as  follows : 

"  In  a  word,  though  most  men  anywise  eminent  have  found  reason  to 
complain  of  calumny,  I  never  was  touched,  or  even  attacked  by  her  bale- 
ful tooth ;  and  though  I  wantonly  exposed  myself  to  the  rage  of  both 
civil  and  religious  factions,  they  seemed  to  be  disarmed  in  my  behalf  of 
their  wonted  fury.  My  friends  never  had  occasion  to  vindicate  any  one 
circumstance  of  my  character  and  conduct ;  not  but  that  the  zealots,  we 
may  well  suppose,  would  have  been  glad  to  invent  and  propagate  any 
story  to  my  disadvantage,  but  they  could  never  find  any  which  they 
thought  would  wear  the  face  of  probability.  I  cannot  say  there  is  no 
vanity  in  making  this  funeral  oration  of  myself,  but  I  hope  it  is  not  a 
misplaced  one." — ED. 

*  Northamptonshire  possesses  more  of  a  certain  kind  of  interest  to  the 
average  American  than  any  other  county  in  England.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  Lawrence  Washington  resided  on  the  Manor 
of  Sulgrave,  about  thirty  miles  from  Ecton.  In  1657,  John  Washington, 
one  of  his  descendants,  emigrated  to  Virginia,  where  he  became  the 
grandfather  of  George  Washington  Twenty-five  years  later, — that  is,  in 
1682, — Josiah  Franklin,  the  father  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  also  sought  a  new 
home  in  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Thus  the  ancestors  of  our 
two  most  illustrious  countrymen,  and  the  two  most  conspicuous  instru- 
ments in  securing  our  national  independence,  resided  in  the  same  county 
in  England  and  within  a  short  ride  of  each  other. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  89 

fore  was  the  name  of  an  order  of  people,  was  assumed 
by  them  as  a  surname  when  others  took  surnames 
all  over  the  kingdom*),  on  a  freehold  of  about  thirty 
acres,  aided  by  the  smith's  business,  which  had  con- 
tinued in  the  family  till  his  time,  the  eldest  son  be- 
ing always  bred  to  that  business ;  a  custom  which 
he  and  my  father  followed  as  to  their  eldest  sons. 
When  1  searched  the  registers  at  Ecton,  I  found  an 
account  of  their  births,  marriages  and  burials  from 
the  year  1555  only,  there  being  no  registers  kept  in 
that  parish  at  any  time  preceding.  By  that  register 
1  perceived  that  I  was  the  youngest  son  of  the 
youngest  son  for  five  generations  back.     My  grand- 


*  As  a  proof  that  Franklin  was  anciently  the  common  name  of  an  ordei 
or  rank  in  England,  see  Judge  Fortescue's  De  Laudibus  Legum  Anglicc, 
written  about  the  year  141 2,  in  which  is  the  following  passage,  to  show 
that  good  juries  might  easily  be  formed  in  any  part  of  England :  "  Regio 
etiam  ilia,  ita  respersa  refertaque  est  possessoribus  terrarum  et  agrorum, 
quod  in  ea,  villula  tarn  parva  reperiri  non  poterit,  in  qua  non  est  miles, 
armiger,  vel  pater  familias,  qualis  ibidem  Frankleri  vulgariter  nuncupa- 
tur,  magnis  ditatus  possessionibus,  nee  non  libere  tenentes  et  alii  valecti 
plurimi,  suis  patrimoniis  sufiicientes  ad  faciendum  juratam,  in  forma 
praenotata."  Moreover,  the  same  country  is  so  filled  and  replenished 
with  landed  menne,  that  therein  so  small  a  thorpe  cannot  be  found 
wherein  dweleth  not  a  knight,  an  esquire,  or  such  an  householder,  as  is 
there  commonly  called  a  Franklin,  enriched  with  great  possessions ;  and 
also  other  freeholders  and  many  yeomen  able  for  their  livelihoodes  tc 
make  a  jury  in  form  aforementioned. — Old  Translation. 

Chaucer,  too,  calls  his  country  gentleman  a  Franklin,  and,  after  de« 
a  ribing  his  good  housekeeping,  thus  characterizes  him : 

"  This  worthy  Franklin  has  a  purse  of  silk, 
Fixed  to  his  girdle,  white  as  morning  milk. 
Knight  of  the  Shire,  first  Justice  at  the  Assize, 
To  help  the  poor,  the  doubtful  to  advise. 
in  all  employments,  generous,  just,  he  proved, 
Renowned  for  courtesy,  by  all  beloved." 
8* 


90  AUTOBIOGRAPHT  OF 

father  Thomas,  who  was  born  in  1598,  lived  at 
Ecton  till  he  grew  too  old  to  follow  business  longer, 
when  he  went  to  live  with  his  son  John,  a  dyer  at 
Banbury,  in  Oxfordshire,  with  whom  my  fathei 
served  an  apprenticeship.  There  my  grandfather 
died  and  lies  buried.  We  saw  his  gravestone  in  1758. 
His  eldest  son  Thomas  lived  in  the  house  at  Ecton, 
and  left  it  with  the  land  to  his  only  child,  a  daughter, 
who,  with  her  husband,  one  Fisher,  of  Welling- 
borough, sold  it  to  Mr.  Isted,  now  lord  of  the  manor 
there.  My  grandfather  had  four  sons  that  grew 
up,  viz.  :  Thomas,  John,  Benjamin  and  Josiah.  I 
will  give  you  what  account  I  can  of  them,  at  this 
distance  from  my  papers,  and  if  these  are  not  lost 
in  my  absence,  you  will  among  them  find  many 
more  particulars.* 


*  Franklin's  father  has  left  the  following  account  of  his  ancestry  in  a 
letter  addressed  to  his  son  Benjamin  in  1739.  Benjamin  was  then  thirty- 
three  years  of  age  and  Deputy  Postmaster  General  at  Philadelphia. 

"From  Josiah  to  B.  Franklin : 

"  Loving  Son  :  As  to  the  original  of  our  name,  there  is  various  opin- 
ions ;  some  say  that  it  came  from  a  sort  of  title,  of  which  a  book  that 
you  bought  when  here  gives  a  lively  account  Some  think  we  are  of  a 
Fiench  extract,  which  was  formerly  called  Franks  ;  some  of  a  free  line, 
a  line  free  from  that  vassalage  which  was  common  to  subjects  in  days 
of  old ;  some  from  a  bird  of  long  red  legs.  Your  uncle  Benjamin  made 
inquiry  of  one  skilled  in  heraldry,  wrho  told  him  there  is  two  coats  of 
armor,  one  belonging  to  the  Franklins  of  the  North,  and  one  to  the 
Franklins  of  the  West.  However,  our  circumstances  have  been  such  as 
that  it  hath  hardly  been  worth  while  to  concern  ourselves  much  about 
these  things  any  farther  than  to  tickle  the  fancy  a  little.  The  first  that 
I  can  give  account  of,  is  my  great-grandfather,  as  it  was  a  custom  in 
those  days  among  young  men  too  many  times  to  goe  to  seek  their  for* 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  9 1 

Thomas  was  bred  a  smith  under  his  father ;  but, 
being  ingenious,  and  encouraged  in  learning  (as  all 


tunes,  and  in  his  travels  he  went  upon  liking  to  a  taylor  ;  but  he  kept  such 
a  stingy  house,  that  he  left  him  and  travelled  farther,  and  came  to  a 
smith's  house,  and  coming  on  a  fasting  day,  being  in  popish  times,  he 
did  not  like  there  the  first  day ;  the  next  morning  the  servant  was  called  up 
at  five  in  the  morning,  but  after  a  little  time  came  a  good  toast  and  good 
beer,  and  he  found  good  housekeeping  there  ;  he  served  and  learned  the 
trade  of  a  smith.  In  Queen  Mary's  days,  either  his  wife,  or  my  grand- 
mother, by  father's  side,  informed  my  father  that  they  kept  their  Bible 
fastened  under  the  top  of  a  joint-stool,  that  they  might  turn  up  the 
book  and  read  in  the  Bible,  that  when  anybody  came  to  the  dore  they 
turned  up  the  stool  for  fear  of  the  aparitor,  for  if  it  were  discovered  they 
would  be  in  hazard  of  their  lives.  My  grandfather  was  a  smith  also, 
and  settled  in  Eton,  in  Northamptonshire,  and  he  was  imprisoned  a 
year  and  a  day  on  suspicion  of  his  being  the  author  of  some  poetry  that 
touched  the  character  of  some  great  man.  He  had  only  one  son  and 
one  daughter  ;  my  grandfather's  name  was  Thomas,  my  mother's  name 
was  Jane.  My  father  was  born  at  Ecton  or  Eton,  Northamptonshire, 
on  the  1 8th  of  October,  1698;  married  to  Miss  Jane  White,  niece  to 
Coll.  White,  of  Banbury,  and  died  in  the  84th  year  of  his  age.  There 
was  nine  children  of  us,  who  were  happy  in  our  parents,  who  took  great 
care  by  their  instructions  and  pious  example  to  breed  us  up  in  a  religious 
way.  My  eldest  brother  had  but  one  child,  which  was  married  to  one 
Mr.  Fisher,  at  Wallingborough,  in  Northamptonshire.  The  town  was 
lately  burnt  down,  and  whether  she  was  a  sufferer  or  not  I  cannot  tell, 
or  whether  she  be  living  or  not.  Her  father  dyed  worth  fifteen  hundred 
pounds,  but  what  her  circumstances  are  now  I  know  not.  She  hath  no 
child.  If  you  by  the  freedom  of  your  office,  makes  it  more  likely  to  con- 
vey a  letter  to  her,  it  would  be  acceptable  to  me.  There  is  also  children 
of  brother  John  and  sister  Morris,  but  I  hear  nothing  from  them,  and 
they  write  not  to  me,  so  that  I  know  not  where  to  find  them.  I  have 
been  again  to  about  seeing  *  *  *  *,  but  have  mist  of  being  informed. 

"  We  received  yours,  and  are  glad  to  hear  poor  Jammy  is  recovered 
so  well.  Son  John  received  the  letter,  but  is  so  busy  just  now  that  he 
cannot  write  you  an  answer,  but  will  do  the  best  he  can.  Now  with 
hearty  love  to,  and  prayer  for  you  all,  I  reft  your  affectionate  father, 

"Josiah  Franklin. 

-  Boston,  May  26,  1739."  W.  T.  F. 


92  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

my  brothers  were)  by  an  Esquire  Palmer,  then  the 
principal  gentleman  in  that  parish,  he  qualified  him- 
self for  the  business  of  scrivener ;  became  a  con- 
siderable man  in  the  county  ;  was  a  chief  mover  of 
all  public-spirited  undertakings  for  the  county  or 
town  of  Northampton,  and  his  own  village,  of  which 
many  instances  were  related  of  him  ;  and  much  taken 
notice  of  and  patronized  by  the  then  Lord  Halifax. 
He  died  in  1702,  January  6,  old  style,  just  four  years 
to  a  day  before  I  was  born.  The  account  we  received 
of  his  life  and  character  from  some  old  people  at 
Ecton,  I  remember,  struck  you  as  something  extra- 
ordinary, from  its  similarity  to  what  you  knew  of 
mine.  "  Had  he  died  on  the  same  day,  "  you  said, 
"  one  might  have  supposed  a  transmigration." 

John  was  bred  a  dyer,  I  believe  of  woolens. 
Benjamin  was  bred  a  silk  dyer,  serving  an  appren- 
ticeship at  London.  He  was  an  ingenious  man. 
I  remember  him  well,  for  when  I  was  a  boy  he 
came  over  to  my  father  in  Boston,  and  lived  in  the 
house  with  us  some  years.  He  lived  to  a  great  age. 
His  grandson,  Samuel  Franklin,  now  lives  in 
Boston.  He  left  behind  him  two  quarto  volumes, 
MS.,  of  his  own  poetry,  consisting  of  little  occa- 
sional pieces  addressed  to  his  friends  and  relations, 
of  which  the  following,  sent  to  me,  is  a  specimen.* 


*  Here  follow  in  the  margin  the  words,  in  brackets,  "  here  insert  it,* 
but  the  poetry  is  not  given.  Mr.  Sparks  informs  us  (Life  of  Franklin, 
p.  6)  that  these  volumes  had  been  preserved,  and  were  in  possession  of 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  93 

He  had  formed  a  short-hand  of  his  own,  which  he 
taught  me,  but,  never  practising  it,  I  have  now  for- 
got it.  I  was  named  after  this  uncle,  there  being  a 
particular  affection   between    him    and   my   father. 


Mrs.  Emmons,  of  Boston,  great-granddaughter  of  their  author.     The 
following  are  specimens  quoted  by  Mr.  Sparks  : 

"  Sent  to  his  namesake,  upon  a  Report  of  his  Inclination  to  Martial 
Affairs,  July  7th,  17 10: 

"  Believe  me,  Ben,  it  is  a  dangerous  trade, 
The  sword  has  many  marred  as  well  as  made ; 
By  it  do  many  fall,  not  many  rise, 
Makes  many  poor,  few  rich,  and  fewer  wise  ; 
Fills  towns  with  ruin,  fields  with  blood  ;  beside 
'Tis  sloth's  maintainer,  and  the  shield  of  pride- 
Fair  cities,  rich  to-day  in  plenty  flow, 
War  fills  with  want  to-morrow,  and  with  woe. 
Ruined  estates,  the  nurse  of  vice,  broke  limbs  and  scars, 
Are  the  effects  of  desolating  wars." 

"  ACROSTIC, 

**  Sent  to  Benjamin  Franklin  in  New  England,  July  15th  1710 : 

"  Be  to  thy  parents  an  obedient  son ; 
Each  day  let  duty  constantly  be  done ; 
Never  give  way  to  sloth,  or  lust,  or  pride, 
If  free  you'd  be  from  thousand  ills  beside  ; 
Above  all  ills  be  sure  avoid  the  shelf; 
Man's  danger  lies  in  Satan,  sin,  and  self 
In  virtue,  learning,  wisdom,  progress  make ; 
Ne'er  shrink  at  suffering  for  thy  Saviour's  sake. 

"  Fraud  aud  all  falsehood  in  thy  dealings  flee, 
Religious  always  in  thy  station  be  ; 
Adore  the  Maker  of  thy  inward  part, 
Now's  the  accepted  time,  give  him  thy  heart ; 
Keep  a  good  conscience,  'tis  a  constant  friend  ; 
Like  judge  and  witness  this  thy  acts  attend. 
In  heart  with  bended  knee,  alone,  adore 
None  but  the  Three  in  One  for  evermore." 

The  following  piece  was  sent  when  his  namesake  was  seven  years  old. 

"  'Tis  time  for  me  to  throw  aside  my  pen, 

When  hanging  sleeves  read,  write,  and  rhyme  like  men. 


94  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

He  was  very  pious,  a  great  attender  of  sermons 
of  the  best  preachers,  which  he  took  down  in 
his  short-hand,  and  had  with  him  many  volumes 
of  them.  He  was  also  much  of  a  politician ;  too 
much,  perhaps,  for  his  station.  There  fell  lately 
into  my  hands,  in  London,  a  collection  he  had  made 
of  all  the  principal  pamphlets  relating  to  public 
affairs,  from  1641  to  1717  ;  many  of  the  volumes  are 
wanting  as   appears  by  the  numbering,   but  there 


This  forward  spring  foretells  a  plenteous  crop ; 

For  if  the  bud  bear  grain,  what  will  the  top  ? 

If  plenty  in  the  verdant  blade  appear, 

What  may  we  not  soon  hope  for  in  the  ear? 

When  flowers  are  beautiful  before  they're  blown, 

What  rarities  will  afterward  be  shown  ! 

If  trees  good  fruit  un'noculated  bear, 

You  may  be  sure  'twill  afterward  be  rare. 

If  fruits  are  sweet  before  they're  time  to  yellow, 

How  luscious  will  they  be  when  they  are  mellow  I 

If  first  year's  shoots  such  noble  clusters  send, 

What  laden  boughs,  Engedi-like,  may  we  expect  in  the  end  I* 

These  lines  are  more  prophetic,  perhaps,  than  the  writer  imagined. 

Sparks. 

This  uncle  Benjamin  died  in  Boston,  in  1728,  leaving  one  son,  Samuel, 
the  only  survivor  often  children.  This  son  had  an  only  child,  who  died 
in  1 775,  leaving  four  daughters.  There  are  now  no  male  descendants 
of  Dr.  Franklin's  grandfather  living  who  bear  his  name.  The  Doctor's 
eldest  son  William  left  one  son,  William  Temple  Franklin,  who  died 
without  issue,  bearing  his  name.  His  second  son,  Francis  Folger,  died 
when  about  four  years  of  age.  His  very  clever  daughter  Sarah  married 
Richard  Bache  in  1767.  Their  descendants  are — Benjamin  Franklin 
Bache,  who  married  Margaret  Markoe ;  William  Hartman  Bache,  who 
married  Catharine  WTistar ;  Eliza  Franklin  Bache,  who  married  John 
Edmund  Harwood ;  Louis  Bache,  who  married  (1st  wife)  Mary  Ann 
Swift,  (2d  wife)  Esther  Egee ;  Deborah  Bache,  who  married  William  J. 
Duane ;  Richard  Bache,  who  married  Sophia  B.,  a  daughter  of  Alexander 
J.  Dallas ;  Sarah  Bache,  who  married  Thomas  Sargeant,  together  with 
their  children. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  95 

still  remain  eight  volumes  in  folio,  and  twenty-four 
in  quarto  and  in  octavo.  A  dealer  in  eld  books  met 
with  them,  and  knowing  me  by  my  sometimes  buy- 
ing of  him,  he  brought  them  to  me.  It  seems  my 
uncle  must  have  left  them  here  when  he  went  to 
America,  which  was  above  fifty  years  since.  There 
are  many  of  his  notes  in  the  margins.* 


*  The  Doctor  refers  to  this  trouvaille  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Samuel 
Franklin,  as  follows : 

"  London,  12  July,  1771. 

"Loving  Cousin  :  I  received  your  kind  letter  of  May  17th,  and  re- 
joice to  hear  that  you  and  your  good  family  are  well.  My  love  to  them. 
With  this  I  send  you  the  print  you  desire  for  Mr.  Bowen.  He  does  me 
honor  in  accepting  it.  Sally  Franklin  presents  her  duty  to  you  and 
Mrs.  Franklin.  Yesterday  a  very  odd  accident  happened,  which  I  must 
mention  to  you,  as  it  relates  to  your  grandfather.  A  person  that  deals 
in  old  books,  of  whom  I  sometimes  buy,  acquainted  me  that  he  had  a 
curious  collection  of  pamphlets  bound  in  eight  volumes  folio,  and  twenty- 
four  volumes  quarto  and  octavo,  which  he  thought  from  the  subjects  I 
might  like  to  have,  and  that  he  would  sell  them  cheap.  I  desired  to 
see  them,  and  he  brought  them  to  me.  On  examining,  I  found  that 
they  contained  all  the  principal  pamphlets  and  papers  on  public  affairs 
that  had  been  printed  here  from  the  Restoration  down  to  1 715.  In  one 
of  the  blank  leaves  at  the  beginning  of  each  volume  the  collector  had 
written  the  titles  of  the  pieces  contained  in  it,  and  the  price  they  cost 
him.  Also  notes  in  the  margin  of  many  of  the  pieces ;  and  the  collector, 
I  find,  from  the  handwriting  and  various  other  circumstances,  was  your 
grandfather,  my  uncle  Benjamin.  Wherefore,  I  the  more  readily  agreed 
to  buy  them.  I  suppose  he  parted  with  them  when  he  left  England  and 
came  to  Boston,  soon  after  your  father,  which  was  about  the  year  17 16 
or  1 717,  now  more  than  fifty  years  since.  In  whose  hands  they  have 
been  all  this  time  I  know  not  The  oddity  is,  that  the  bookseller,  who 
could  suspect  nothing  of  any  relation  between  me  and  the  collector, 
should  happen  to  make  me  the  offer  of  them.  My  love  to  your  good 
wife  and  children. 

"  Your  affectionate  cousin, 

-Ed.  "  B.  Franklin.'* 


96  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

This  obscure  family  of  ours  was  early  in  the  Re- 
formation, and  continued  Protestants  through  the 
reign  of  Queen  Mary,  when  they  were  sometimes 
in  danger  of  trouble  on  account  of  their  zeal  against 
popery.  They  had  got  an  English  Bible,  and  to 
conceal  and  secure  it,  it  was  fastened  open  with 
tapes  under  and  within  the  cover  of  a  joint-stool. 
When  my  great-great-grandfather  read  it  to  his 
family,  he  turned  up  the  joint-stool  upon  his  knees, 
turning  over  the  leaves  then  under  the  tapes.  One 
of  the  children  stood  at  the  door  to  give  notice  if  he 
saw  the  apparitor  coming,  who  was  an  officer  of  the 
spiritual  court.  In  that  case  the  stool  was  turned 
down  again  upon  its  feet,  when  the  Bible  remained 
concealed  under  it  as  before.  This  anecdote  I  had 
from  my  uncle  Benjamin.  The  family  continued 
all  of  the  Church  of  England  till  about  the  end  of 
Charles  the  Second's  reign,  when  some  of  the 
ministers  that  had  been  outed  for  non-conformity 
holding  conventicles  in  Northamptonshire,  Benja- 
min and  Josiah  adhered  to  them,  and  so  continued 
all  their  lives  :  the  rest  of  the  family  remained  with 
the  Episcopal  Church. 

Josiah,  my  father,  married  young,  and  carried  his 
wife  with  three  children  into  New  England,  about 
1682.  The  conventicles  having  been  forbidden  by 
law,  and  frequently  disturbed,  induced  some  con- 
siderable men  of  his  acquaintance  to  remove  to  that 
country,  and  he  was  prevailed  with  to  accompany 
them  thither,   where  they  expected  to  enjoy  their 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  97 

mode  of  religion  with  freedom.  By  the  same  wife 
he  had  four  children  more  born  there,  and  by  a 
second  wife  ten  more,  in  all  seventeen ;  of  which  I 
remember  thirteen  sitting  at  one  time  at  his  table, 
who  all  grew  up  to  be  men  and  women,  and  mar- 
ried ;  I  was  the  youngest  son,  and  the  youngest  child 
hut  two,  and  was  born  in  Boston,  New  England.*  My 
mother,  the  second  wife,  was  Abiah  Folger,  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  Folger,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  New 
England,  of  whom  honorable  mention  is  made  by 
Cotton  Mather,  in  his  church  history  of  that  country, 
entitled  Magnalia  Christi  Americana,  as  "  a  godly, 
learned  Englishman,"  if  I  remember  the  words 
rightly.  I  have  heard  that  he  wrote  sundry  small 
occasional  pieces,  but  only  one  of  them  was  printed, 
which  I  saw  now  many  years  since.  It  was  written 
in  1675,  in  the  home-spun  verse  of  that  time  and 
people,  and  addressed  to  those  then  concerned  in 
the  government  there.  It  was  in  favor  of  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Baptists,  Quakers, 
and  other  sectaries  that  had  been  under  persecution, 


*  He  was  born  January  6th,  1 706,  old  style,  being  Sunday,  and  the         / 
same  as  January  17^  new  style,  which  his  biographers  have  usually — \t — 
mentioned  as  the  day  of  his  birth.     By  the  records  of  the  Old  South 
church  in  Boston,  to  which  his  father  and  mother  belonged,  it  appears 
diat  he  was  baptized  the  same  day.     In  the  old  public  Register  of 
Births,  still  preserved  in  the  Mayor's  Office  in  Boston,  his  birth  is  re- 
coided  under  the  date  of  January  6th,  1706.     At  this  time  his  fathei 
occupied  a  house  in  Milk  street,  opposite  to  the  Old  South  Church, 
but  he  removed  shortly  afterward  to  a  house  at  the  corner  of  Hanover 
and  Union  streets,  where  it  is  believed  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  and  where  the  son  passed  his  early  vears. — S. 
9  m 


98  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ascribing  the  Indian  wars,  and  other  distresses  that 
had  befallen  the  country,  to  that  persecution,  as  so 
many  judgments  of  God  to  punish  so  heinous  an 
offense,  and  exhorting  a  repeal  of  those  uncharitable 
laws.  The  whole  appeared  to  me  as  written  with  a 
good  deal  of  decent  plainness  and  manly  freedom. 
The  six  concluding  lines  I  remember,  though  I  have 
forgotten  the  two  first  of  the  stanza ;  but  the  purport 
of  them  was,  that  his  censures  proceeded  from  good- 
will, and,  therefore  he  would  be  known  to  be  the 
author. 

"  Because  to  be  a  libeller  (says  he) 

I  hate  it  with  my  heart ; 
From  Sherburne*  town,  where  now  I  dwell 

My  name  I  do  put  here ; 
Without  offense  your  real  friend, 

It  is  Peter  Folgier."t 


*  The  poem,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  of  which  these  are  the  closing 
lines,  extends  through  fourteen  pages  of  a  duodecimo  pamphlet,  entitled 
"  A  Looking-Glass  for  the  Times  ;  or  the  former  spirit  of  New  England 
revived  in  this  generation,  by  Peter  Folger."  It  is  dated  at  the  end, 
"  April  23d,  1676."  The  lines,  which  immediately  precede  those  quoted 
by  Dr.  Franklin,  and  which  are  necessary  to  complete  the  sentiment 
intended  to  be  conveyed  by  the  author,  are  the  following  : 

"  I  am  for  peace  and  not  for  war, 

And  that's  the  reason  why 
I  write  more  plain  than  some  men  do, 

That  use  to  daub  and  lie. 
But  I  shall  i  ease,  and  set  my  name 

To  what  I  here  insert, 
Because  to  be  a  libeler 

I  hate  it  with  my  heart." 

t  The  author's  muse  speaks  even  in  the  title-page,  and  explains  tu 
the  reader  his  design  in  writing  the  "  Looking-Glass  for  the  Times  :" 

"  Let  all  that  read  these  verses  know, 
That  I  intend  something  to  show 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  99 

My  elder  brothers  were  all  put  apprentices  to 
different  trades.  I  was  put  to  the  grammar-school 
at  eight  years  of  age,  my  father  intending  to  devote  ■ 
me,  as  the  tithe  of  his  sons,  to  the  service  of  the  : 
Church.  My  early  readiness  in  learning  to  read 
(which  must  have  been  very  early,  as  I  do  not  re- 
member when  I  could  not  read) ,  and  the  opinion  of 
all  his  friends,  that  I  should  certainly  make  a  good 
scholar,  encouraged  him  in  this  purpose  of  his.  My 
uncle  Benjamin,  too,  approved  of  it,  and  proposed 
to  give  me  all  his  short-hand  volumes  of  sermons,  I 
suppose  as  a  stock  to  set  up  with,  if  I  would  learn 
his  character.  I  continued,  however,  at  the  gram- 
mar-school not  quite  one  year,  though  in  that  time  I 
had  risen  gradually  from  the  middle  of  the  class  of 
that  year  to  be  the  head  of  it,  and  farther  was  removed 
into  the  next  class  above  it,  in  order  to  go  with  that 
into  the  third  at  the  end  of  the  year.  But  my  father, 
in  the  mean  time,  from  a  view  of  the  expense  of  a 
college  education,  which  having  so  large  a  family 
he  could  not  well  afford,  and  the  mean  living  many 
so  educated  were  afterwards  able  to  obtain — reasons 
that  he  gave  to  his  friends  in  my  hearing — altered 
his  first  intention,  took  me  from  the  grammar-school, 
and  sent  me  to  a  school  for  writing  and  arithmetic. 


About  our  war,  how  it  hath  been, 
And  also  what  is  the  chief  sin, 
That  God  doth  so  with  us  contend. 
And  when  these  wars  are  like  to  end, 
Read  then  in  love ;  do  not  despise 
What  here  is  set  before  thine  eyes."— S. 


IOO  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

kept  by  a  then  famous  man,  Mr.  George  Brownell, 
very  successful  in  his  profession  generally,  and  that 
by  mild,  encouraging  methods.  Under  him  I  ac- 
quired fair  writing  pretty  soon,' but  I  failed  in  the 
arithmetic,  and  made  no  progress  in  it.  At  ten 
years  old  I  was  taken  home  to  assist  my  father  in 
his  business,  which  was  that  of  a  tallow-chandler 
and  sope-boiler ;  a  business  he  was  not  bred  to,  but 
had  assumed  on  his  arrival  in  New  England,  and 
on  finding  his  dying  trade  would  not  maintain  his 
family,  being  in  little  request.  Accordingly,  I  was 
employed  in  cutting  wick  for  the  candles,  filling  the 
dipping  mold  and  the  molds  for  cast  candles,  at- 
tending the  shop,  going  of  errands,  etc. 

I  disliked  the  trade,  and  had  a  strong  inclination 
for  the  sea,  but  my  father  declared  against  it;  how- 
ever, living  near  the  water,  I  was  much  in  and 
about  it,  learnt  early  to  swim  well,  and  to  man- 
age boats ;  and  when  in  a  boat  or  canoe  with  other 
boys,  I  was  commonly  allowed  to  govern,  especially 
in  any  case  of  difficulty ;  and  upon  other  occasions 
I  was  generally  a  leader  among  the  boys,  and  some- 
times led  them  into  scrapes,  of  which  I  will  mention 
one  instance,  as  it  shows  an  early  projecting  public 
spirit,  tho'  not  then  justly  conducted. 

There  was  a  salt-marsh  that  bounded  part  of  the 
mill-pond,  on  the  edge  of  which,  at  high  water,  we 
used  to  stand  to  fish  for  minnows.  By  much  tramp- 
ling, we  had  made  it  a  mere  quagmire.  My  pro- 
posal was  to  build  a  wharfF  there  fit  for  us  to  stand 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  iOI 

upon,  and  I  showed  my  comrades  a  large  heap  of 
stones,  which  were  intended  for  a  new  house  near 
the  marsh,  and  which  would  very  well  suit  our  pur- 
pose. Accordingly,  in  the  evening,  when  the  work- 
men were  gone,  I  assembled  a  number  of  my 
play-fellows,  and  working  with  them  diligently  like 
so  many  emmets,  sometimes  two  or  three  to  a  stone, 
we  brought  them  all  away  and  built  our  little 
wharff.  The  next  morning  the  workmen  were  sur- 
prised at  missing  the  stones,  which  were  found  in 
our  wharff.  Inquiry  was  made  after  the  removers  ; 
we  were  discovered  and  complained  of;  several  of 
us  were  corrected  by  our  fathers ;  and,  though  I 
pleaded  the  usefulness  of  the  work,  mine  convinced 
me  that  nothing  was  useful  which  was  not  honest. 

I  think  you  may  like  to  know  something  of  his 
person  and  character.  He  had  an  excellent  consti-i 
tution  of  body,  was  of  middle  stature,  but  well  set, 
and  very  strong ;  he  was  ingenious,  could  draw 
prettily,  was  skilled  a  little  in  music,  and  had  a  clear 
pleasing  voice,  so  that  when  he  played  psalm  tunes 
on  his  violin  and  sung  withal,  as  he  sometimes  did 
in  an  evening  after  the  business  of  the  day  was  over, 
it  was  extremely  agreeable  to  hear.  He  had  a 
mechanical  genius  too,  and,  on  occasion,  was  very 
handy  in  the  use  of  other  tradesmen's  tools  ;  but  his 
great  excellence  lay  in  a  sound  understanding  and 
solid  judgment  in  prudential  matters,  both  in  private 
and  publick  affairs.  In  the  latter,  indeed,  he  was  never 
employed,  the  numerous  family  he  had  to  educate 


4 


102  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  the  straitness  of  his  circumstances  keeping  him 
close  to  his  trade ;  but  I  remember  well  his  being 
frequently  visited  by  leading  people,  who  consulted 
nim  for  his  opinion  in  affairs  of  the  town  or  of  the 
church  he  belonged  to,  and  showed  a  good  deal  of 
respect  for  his  judgment  and  advice :  he  was  also 
much  consulted  by  private  persons  about  their  affairs 
when  any  difficulty  occurred,  and  frequently  chosen 
an  arbitrator  between  contending  parties.  At  his 
table  he  liked  to  have,  as  often  as  he  could,  some 
sensible  friend  or  neighbor  to  converse  with,  and 
always  took  care  to  start  some  ingenious  or  useful 
topic  for  discourse,  which  might  tend  to  improve 
the  minds  of  his  children.  By  this  means  he  turned 
our  attention  to  what  was  good,  just,  and  prudent  in 
the  conduct  of  life ;  and  little  or  no  notice  was  ever 
taken  of  what  related  to  the  victuals  on  the  table, 
whether  it  was  well  or  ill  dressed,  in  or  out  of  sea- 
son, of  good  or  bad  flavor,  preferable  or  inferior  to 
this  or  that  other  thing  of  the  kind,  so  that  I  was 
bro't  up  in  such  a  perfect  inattention  to  those 
matters  as  to  be  quite  indifferent  what  kind  of  food 
was  set  before  me,  and  so  unobservant  of  it,  that  to 
this  day  if  I  am  asked  I  can  scarce  tell  a  few  hours 
after  dinner  what  I  dined  upon.  This  has  been  a 
convenience  to  me  in  travelling,  where  my  com- 
panions have  been  sometimes  very  unhappy  for 
want  of  a  suitable  gratification  of  their  more  delicate, 
because  better  instructed,  tastes  and  appetites. 
My  mother  had  likewise  an  excellent  constitution  : 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  103 

she  suckled  all  her  ten  children.  I  never  knew 
either  my  father  or  mother  to  have  any  sickness  but 
that  of  which  they  dy'd,  he  at  89,  and  she  at  85 
years  of  age.  They  lie  buried  together  at  Boston, 
where  I  some  years  since  placed  a  marble  over  their 
grave,  with  this  inscription  : 

Josiah  Franklin, 

and 

Abiah  his  wife, 

lie  here  interred 

They  lived  lovingly  together  in  wedlock 

fifty-five  years. 

Without  an  estate,  or  any  gainful  employment, 

By  constant  labor  and  industry, 

with  God's  blessing, 

They  maintained  a  large  family 

comfortably, 

and  brought  up  thirteen  children 

and  seven  grandchildren 

reputably. 

From  this  instance,  reader, 

Be  encouraged  to  diligence  in  thy  calling, 

And  distrust  not  Providence. 

He  was  a  pious  and  prudent  man ; 

She,  a  discreet  and  virtuous  woman. 

Their  youngest  son, 

In  filial  regard  to  their  memory, 

Places  this  stone. 
J.  F.  born  1655,  died  1744,  iEtat  89. 
A.  F.  born  1667,  died  1752, 85.* 


*  The  marble  stone  on  which  this  inscription  was  engraved  having 
become  decayed,  and  the  inscription  itself  defaced  by  time,  a  more 
durable  monument  has  been  erected  over  the  graves  of  the  father  and 
mother  of  Franklin.  The  suggestion  was  first  made  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Building  Committee  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association  in 
the  autumn  of  1826,  and  it  met  with  universal  approbation.  A  com- 
mittee of  managers  was  organized,  and  an  amount  of  money  adequate 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

By  my  rambling  digressions  I  perceive  myself  to 
be  grown  old.  I  us'd  to  write  more  methodically. 
But  one  does  not  dress  for  private  company  as  for  a 
publick  ball.     'Tis  perhaps  only  negligence. 

To  return :    I   continued  thus    employed   in   my 


to  the  object  was  soon  contributed  by  the  voluntary  subscriptions  of  a 
large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Boston.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on 
the  15th  of  June,  1827,  and  an  address  appropriate  to  the  occasion  was 
pronounced  by  General  Henry  A.  S.  Dearborn.  The  monument  is  an 
obelisk  of  granite,  twenty-one  feet  high,  which  rests  on  a  square  base 
measuring  seven  feet  on  each  side  and  two  feet  in  height.  The  obelisk 
is  composed  of  five  massive  blocks  of  granite,  placed  one  above  another. 
On  one  side  is  the  name  of  Franklin  in  large  bronze  letters,  and  a  little 
below  is  a  tablet  of  bronze,  thirty-two  inches  long  and  sixteen  wide, 
sunk  into  the  stone.  On  this  tablet  is  engraven  Dr.  Franklin's  origin^ 
inscription,  as  quoted  in  the  text,  and  beneath  it  are  the  following  line .... 

The  Marble  Tablet, 

Bearing  the  above  inscription, 

Having  been  dilapidated  by  the  ravages  of  time, 

A  number  of  citizens, 

Entertaining  the  most  profound  veneration 

For  the  memory  of  the  illustrious 

Benjamin  Franklin, 

And  desirous  of  reminding  succeeding  generations 

That  he  was  born  in  Boston, 

A.  D.  MDCCVL, 

Erected  this 

Obelisk 

Over  the  grave  of  his  parents, 

MDCCCXXVII. 

A  silver  plate  was  deposited  under  the  corner-stone,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion commemorative  of  the  occasion,  a  part  of  which  is  as  follows : 
"  This  monument  was  erected  over  the  remains  of  the  parents  of  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  by  the  citizens  of  Boston,  from  respect  to  the  private 
character  and  public  services  of  this  illustrious  patriot  and  philosopher, 
and  for  the  many  tokens  of  his  affectionate  attachment  to  his  native 
town."' — 6". 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  105 

father's  business  for  two  years,  that  is,  till  I  was 
twelve  years  old ;  and  my  brother  John ,  who  was 
bred  to  that  business,  having  left  my  father,  mar- 
ried, and  set  up  for  himself  at  Rhode  Island,  there 
was  all  appearance  that  I  was  destined  to  supply  his 
place,  and  become  a  tallow-chandler.  But  my  dis- 
like to  the  trade  continuing,  my  father  was  under 
apprehensions  that  if  he  did  not  find  one  for  me 
more  agreeable,  I  should  break  away  and  get  to 
sea,  as  his  son  Josiah  had  done,  to  his  great  vexa- 
tion. He  therefore  sometimes  took  me  to  walk  with 
him,  and  see  joiners,  bricklayers,  turners,  braziers, 
etc.,  at  their  work,  that  he  might  observe  my  incli- 
nation, and  endeavor  to  fix  it  on  some  trade  or  other 
on  land.  It  has  ever  since  been  a  pleasure  to  me 
to  see  good  workmen  handle  their  tools  ;  and  it  has 
been  useful  to  me,  having  learnt  so  much  by  it  as 
to  be  able  to  do  little  jobs  myself  in  my  house  when 
a  workman  could  not  readily  be  got,  and  to  con- 
struct little  machines  for  my  experiments,  while  the 
intention  of  making  the  experiment  was  fresh  and 
warm  in  my  mind.  My  father  at  last  fixed  upon 
the  cutler's  trade,  and  my  uncle  Benjamin's  son 
Samuel,  who  was  bred  to  that  business  in  London, 
being  about  that  time  established  in  Boston,  I  was 
sent  to  be  with  him  some  time  on  liking.  But  his 
expectations  of  a  fee  with  me  displeasing  my  father, 
I  was  taken  home  again. 

From  a  child  I  was  fond  of  reading,  and  all  the 
little  money  that  came  into  my  hands  was  ever  laid 


106  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

out  in  books.  Pleased  with  the  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
my  first  collection  was  of  John  Bunyan's  works  in 
separate  little  volumes.  I  afterward  sold  them  to 
enable  me  to  buy  R.  Burton's  Historical  Collections  ; 
they  were  small  chapmen's  books,  and  cheap,  40 
or  50  in  all.  My  father's  little  library  consisted 
chiefly  of  books  in  polemic  divinity,  most  of  which 
I  read,  and  have  since  often  regretted  that,  at  a  time 
when  I  had  such  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  more  proper 
books  had  no*:  fallen  in  my  way,  since  it  was  now 
resolved  I  should  not  be  a  clergyman.  Plutarch's 
Lives  there  was  in  which  I  read  abundantly,  and  I 
still  think  that  time  spent  to  great  advantage.  There 
was  also  a  book  of  De  Foe's,  called  an  Essay  on 
Projects,  and  another  of  Dr.  Mather's,  called  Essays 
to  do  Good,  which  perhaps  gave  me  a  turn  of  think- 
ing that  had  an  influence  on  some  of  the  principal 
future  events  of  my  life. 

This  bookish  inclination  at  length  determined  my 
father  to  make  me  a  printer,  though  he  had  already 
one  son  (James)  of  that  profession.  In  17 17  my 
brother  James  returned  from  England  with  a  press 
and  letters  to  set  up  his  business  in  Boston.  I  liked 
it  much  better  than  that  of  my  father,  but  still  had  a 
hankering  for  the  sea.  To  prevent  the  apprehended 
effect  of  such  an  inclination,  my  father  was  impa- 
tient to  have  me  bound  to  my  brother.  I  stood  out 
some  time,  but  at  last  was  persuaded,  and  signed 
the  indentures  when  I  was  yet  but  twelve  years  old. 
t  was  to  serve  as  an  apprentice  till  I  was  twenty-one 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  I07 

vears  of  age,  only  I  was  to  be  allowed  journeyman's 
wages  during  the  last  year.  In  a  little  time  I  made 
great  proficiency  in  the  business,  and  became  a 
useful  hand  to  my  brother.  I  now  had  access  to 
better  books.  An  acquaintance  with  the  apprentices 
of  booksellers  enabled  me  sometimes  to  borrow  a 
small  one,  which  I  was  careful  to  return  soon  and 
clean.  Often  I  sat  up  in  my  room  reading  the 
greatest  part  of  the  night,  when  the  book  was  bor- 
rowed in  the  evening  and  to  be  returned  early  in 
the  morning,  lest  it  should  be  missed  or  wanted. 

And  after  some  time  an  ingenious  tradesman,  Mr. 
Matthew  Adams,  who  had  a  pretty  collection  of 
books,  and  who  frequented  our  printing-house,  took 
notice  of  me,  invited  me  to  his  library,  and  very 
kindly  lent  me  such  books  as  I  chose  to  read.  I 
now  took  a  fancy  to  poetry,  and  made  some  little 
pieces ;  my  brother,  thinking  it  might  turn  to  ac- 
count, encouraged  me,  and  put  me  on  composing 
occasional  ballads.  One  was  called  The  Light- 
house Tragedy  ^  and  contained  an  account  of  the 
drowning  of  Captain  Worthilake,  with  his  two 
daughters  :  the  other  was  a  sailor's  song,  on  the 
taking  of  Teach  (or  Blackbeard)  the  pirate.  They 
were  wretched  stuff,  in  the  Grub-street-ballad  style ; 
and  when  they  were  printed  he  sent  me  about  the 
town  to  sell  them.  The  first  sold  wonderfully,  the 
event  being  recent,  having  made  a  great  noise. 
This  flattered  my  vanity  ;  but  my  father  discouraged 
me   by   ridiculing   my    performances,    and    telling 


w 


108  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

me  verse-makers  were  generally  beggars.  So  I 
escaped  being  a  poet,  most  probably  a  very  bad 
one ;  but  as  prose  writing  has  been  of  great  use  to 
me  in  the  course  of  my  life,  and  was  a  principal 
means  of  my  advancement,  I  shall  tell  you  how, 
in  such  a  situation,  I  acquired  what  little  ability  I 
have  in  that  way. 

There  was  another  bookish  lad  in  the  town,  John 
Collins  by  name,  with  whom  I  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted. We  sometimes  disputed,  and  very  fond 
we  were  of  argument,  and  very  desirous  of  confut- 
ing one  another,  which  disputatious  turn,  by  the 
way,  is  apt  to  become  a  very  bad  habit,  making 
people  often  extremely  disagreeable  in  company  by 
the  contradiction  that  is  necessary  to  bring  it  into 
practice ;  and  thence,  besides  souring  and  spoiling 
the  conversation,  is  productive  of  disgusts  and,  per- 
haps enmities  where  you  may  have  occasion  for 
friendship.  I  had  caught  it  by  reading  my  father's 
books  of  dispute  about  religion.  Persons  of  good 
sense,  I  have  since  observed,  seldom  fall  into  it, 
except  lawyers,  university  men,  and  men  of  all 
sorts  that  have  been  bred  at  Edinborough. 

A  question  was  once,  somehow  or  other,  started 
between  Collins  and  me,  of  the  propriety  of  educat- 
ing the  female  sex  in  learning,  and  their  abilities  for 
study.  He  was  of  opinion  that  it  was  improper, 
and  that  they  were  naturally  unequal  to  it.  I  took 
the  contrary  side,  perhaps  a  little  for  dispute's  sake. 
He  was  naturally  more  eloquent,  had  a  ready  plenty 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  109 

of  words ,  and  sometimes,  as  I  thought,  bore  me 
down  more  by  his  fluency  than  by  the  strength  of 
his  reasons.  As  we  parted  without  settling  the 
point,  and  were  not  to  see  one  another  again  for 
some  time,  I  sat  down  to  put  my  arguments  in  writ- 
ing, which  I  copied  fair  and  sent  to  him.  He  an- 
swered, and  I  replied.  ,  Three  or  four  letters  of  0 
side  had  passed,  when  my  father  happened  to  find 
my  papers  and  read  them.  Without  entering  into 
the  discussion,  he  took  occasion  to  talk  to  me  about 
the  manner  of  my  writing ;  observed  that,  though  I 
had  the  advantage  of  my  antagonist  in  correct  spelling 
and  pointing  (which  I  ow'd  to  the  printing-house), 
I  fell  far  short  in  elegance  of  expression,  in  method 
and  in  perspicuity,  of  which  he  convinced  me  by 
several  instances.  I  saw  the  justice  of  his  remarks, 
and  thence  grew  more  attentive  to  the  manner  in 
writing,  and  determined  to  endeavor  at  improve- 
ment. 

About  this  time  I  met  with  an  odd  volume  of  the 
Spectator.  It  was  the  third.  I  had  never  before 
seen  any  of  them.  I  bought  it,  read  it  over  and 
over,  and  was  much  delighted  with  it.  I  thought 
the  writing  excellent,  and  wished,  if  possible,  to 
imitate  it'.  With  this  view  I  took  some  of  the 
papers,  and,  making  short  hints  of  the  sentiment  in 
each  sentence,  laid  them  by  a  few  days,  and  then, 
without  looking  at  the  book,  try'd  to  compleat  the 
papers  again,  by  expressing  each,  hinted  sentiment  at 

length,  and  as  fully  as  it  had  been  expressed  before,  in 

10 


IIO  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

any  suitable  words  that  should  come  to  hand.  Then  I 
compared  my  Sfecta tor  with  the  original,  discovered 
some  of  my  faults,  and  corrected  them.  But  I  found 
I  wanted  a  stock  of  words,  or  a  readiness  in  recol- 
lecting and  using  them,  which  I  thought  I  should 
have  acquired  before  that  time  if  I  had  gone  on 
making  verses ;  since  the  continual  occasion  for 
words  of  the  same  import,  but  of  different  length, 
to  suit  the  measure,  or  of  different  sound  for  the 
rhyme,  would  have  laid  me  under  a  constant  neces- 
sity of  searching  for  variety,  and  also  have  tended 
to  fix  that  variety  in  my  mind,  and  make  me  master 
of  it.  Therefore  I  took  some  of  the  tales  and 
turned  them  into  verse ;  and,  after  a  time,  when  I 
had  pretty  well  forgotten  the  prose,  turned  them 
back  again.  I  also  sometimes  jumbled  my  collec- 
tions of  hints  into  confusion,  and  after  some  weeks 
endeavored  to  reduce  them  into  the  best  order,  be- 
fore I  began  to  form  the  full  sentences  and  compleat 
the  paper.  This  was  to  teach  me  method  in  the 
arrangement  of  thoughts.  By  comparing  my  work 
afterwards  with  the  original,  I  discovered  many  faults 
and  amended  them  ;  but  I  sometimes  had  the  pleasure 
of  fancying  that,  in  certain  particulars  of  small  im- 
port, 1  had  been  lucky  enough  to  improve  the 
method  or  the  language,  and  this  encouraged  me  to 
think  I  might  possibly  in  time  come  to  be  a  tolerable 
English  writer,  of  which  I  was  extreamly  ambitious. 
My  time  for  these  exercises  and  for  reading  was  at 
night,  after  work  or  before  it  began  in  the  morning, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 1  I 

or  on  Sundays,  when  I  contrived  to  be  in  the  print- 
ing-house alone,  evading  as  much  as  I  could  the 
common  attendance  on  public  worship  which  my 
father  used  to  exact  of  me  when  I  was  under  his 
care,  and  which  indeed  I  still  thought  a  duty,  though 
I  could  not,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  afford  time  to  prac-  \ 
tise  it. 

When  about  16  years  of  age  I  happened  to 
meet  with  a  book,  written  by  one  Tryon,  recom- 
mending a  vegetable  diet.  I  determined  to  go  into 
it.  My  brother,  being  yet  unmarried,  did  not  keep 
house,  but  boarded  himself  and  his  apprentices  in 
another  family.  My  refusing  to  eat  flesh  occasioned 
an  inconveniency,  and  I  was  frequently  chid  for  my 
singularity.  I  made  myself  acquainted  with  Tryon's 
manner  of  preparing  some  of  his  dishes,  such  as 
boiling  potatoes  or  rice,  making  hasty  pudding,  and 
a  few  others,  and  then  proposed  to  my  brother,  that 
if  he  would  give  me,  weekly,  half  the  money  he  paid 
for  my  board,  I  would  board  myself.  He  instantly 
agreed  to  it,  and  I  presently  found  that  I  could  save 
half  what  he  paid  me.  This  was  an  additional  fund 
for  buying  books.  But  I  had  another  advantage  in 
it.  My  brother  and  the  rest  going  from  the  print- 
ing-house to  their  meals,  I  remained  there  alone, 
and,  despatching  presently  my  light  repast,  which 
often  was  no  more  than  a  bisket  or  a  slice  of  bread, 
a  handful  of  raisins  or  a  tart  from  the  pastry-cook's, 
and  a  glass  of  water,  had  the  rest  of  the  time  til]  • 
their  return  for  study,  in  which  I  made  the  greatei 


A 


112  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

progress,  from  that  greater  clearness  of  head  and 
quicker  apprehension  which  usually  attend  temper- 
ance in  eating  and  drinking. 

x\nd  now  it  was  that,  being  on  some  occasion 
made  asham'd  of  my  ignorance  in  figures,  which  1 
had  twice  failed  in  learning  when  at  school,  I  took 
Cocker's  book  of  Arithmetick,  and  went  through  the 
whole  by  myself  with  great  ease.  I  also  read  Sel- 
ler's and  vShermy's  books  of  Navigation,  and  became 
acquainted  with  the  little  geometry  they  contain ; 
but  never  proceeded  far  in  that  science.  And  I  read 
about  this  time  Locke-  on  Human  Understanding, 
and  the  Art  of  Thinking,  by  Messrs.  du  Port  Royal.* 


*  Cabanis,  in  the  notice  which  he  prepared  of  Franklin  shortly  after 
the  philosopher's  death,  says,  in  reference  to  his  reading  at  this  time : 
"  We  have  it  also  from  him  that  about  this  time,  for  the  first,  he  read  a 
very  bad  translation  of  the  Provincial  Letters.  He  was  ravished  by 
them.  He  read  them  over  many  times.  They  were  one  of  the  French 
books  he  most  esteemed." — (Euvres  Complets,  vol.  v.,  p.  228. 

The  discrepancy  between  these  two  statements  provokes  the  remark 
that  at  the  time  Franklin  wrote  this  portion  of  the  Memoirs  he  did  not 
know  Cabanis.  It  is  probable  that  he  read  and  was  much  impressed 
by  both  works,  and  at  different  epochs  of  his  life  and  with  different 
persons  dwelt  sometimes  upon  the  importance  of  one  and  sometimes 
of  the  other  to  his  intellectual  training. 

Speaking  of  the  three  particular  books  which  may  have  remotely 
contributed  to  form  the  historian  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Gibbon  says : 
"  From  the  Provincial  Letters  of  Pascal,  which  almost  every  year  I  have 
perused  with  new  pleasure,  I  learned  to  manage  the  weapon  of  grave 
and  temperate  irony  even  on  subjects  of  ecclesiastical  solemnity." — Mis- 
cellaneous Works  of  Gibbon,  in  5  vols.,  vol.  i.  p.  96. 

Reasoning  post  hoc  propter  hoc,  Franklin  might  have  made  the  same 
confession  with  equal  propriety.  Not  Gibbon  himself  was  a  master  of 
a  more  refined  and  decorous  irony.  I  will  venture  to  give  an  illustra- 
tion of  his  skill  in  the  management  of  this  most  dangerous  weapor 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  1 1 3 

While  I  was  intent  on  improving  my  language,  I 
met  with  an  English  grammar  (I  think  it  was-Green- 
wood's),  at  the  end  of  which  there  were  two  little 
sketches  of  the  arts  of  rhetoric  and  logic,  the  latter 
finishing  with  a  specimen  of  a  dispute  in  the  Socratic 
method ;  and  soon  after  I  procur'd  Xenophon's  Me- 
morable Things  of  Socrates,  wherein  there  are  many 
instances  of  the  same  method.     I  was  charm'd  with 
it,  adopted  it,   dropt  my  abrupt  contradiction   and 
positive  argumentation,  and  put  on  the  humble  in-  . 
quirer  and  doubter. \  And  being  then,  from  reading 
Shaftesbury  and  Collins,  become  a  real  doubter  in 
many  points  of  our  religious  doctrine,  I  found  this  I 
method  safest  for  myself  and  very  embarassing  to  j 
those  against  whom  I  used  it ;  therefore  I  took  a  de- 
light in  it,  practis'd  it  continually,   and  grew  very  j 
artful  and  expert  in  drawing  people,  even  of  supe- 
rior knowledge,  into  concessions,  the  consequences 


here,  only  bscUue  it  has  never  been  in  print.  It  appears  in  a  letter 
written  by  the  Doctor  shortly  after  his  final  return  from  Europe,  to  his 
friend  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont,  one  of  whose  houses  at  Passy  he  occupied 
during  his  entire  residence  near  the  Court  of  France.  I  am  indebted 
to  his  grandson,  M.  le  Ray  de  Chaumont,  who  still  lives  in  Paris  in 
the  enjoyment  of  a  green  old  age,  for  a  copy  of  the  original.  In  this 
letter,  referring  to  a  claim  sent  in  by  his  maitre  d'hotel,  for  bills  already 
once  paid,  the  Doctor  says  : 

"As  to  Tinck,  the  maitre  d'hotel,  he  was  fairly  paid  in  money  for  every 
just  demand  he  could  make  against  us,  and  we  have  his  receipts  in  full. 
But  there  are  knaves  in  the  world  whom  no  writing  can  bind,  and  when 
you  think  you  have  finished  with  them,  they  come  with  demands  after 
demands,  sans  fin.  He  was  continually  saying  of  himself,  Je  s.'ds  honnfo 
hotnme,  je  suis  konnfce  homme.  But  I  always  suspected  he  was  mis- 
taken ;  and  so  it  proves." — Ed. 
10* 


114  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  which  they  did  not  foresee,  entangling  them  in 
difficulties  out  of  which  they  could  not  extricate 
themselves,  and  so  obtaining  victories  that  neither 
myself  nor  my  cause  always  deserved.  I  continu'd 
this  method  some  few  years,  but  gradually  left  it, 
retaining  only  the  habit  of  expressing  myself  in 
terms  of  modest  diffidence ;  never  using,  when  t 
advanced  any  thing  that  may  possibly  be  disputed, 
the  words  certainly ■,  undoubtedly,  or  any  others  that 
;  give  the  air  of  positiveness  to  an  opinion ;  but 
rather  say,  I  conceive  or  apprehend  a  thing  to  be  so 
and  so  ;  it  appears  to  me,  or  /  should  think  it  so  or 
so,  for  such  and  such  reasons ;  or  I  imagine  it  to  be 
so;  or  it  is  so,  if  I  am  not  mistaken.  This  habit,  I 
believe,  has  been  of  great  advantage  to  me  when  I 
have  had  occasion  to  inculcate  my  opinions,  and 
persuade  men  into  measures  that  I  have  been  from 
time  to  time  engag'd  in  promoting ;  and,  as  the  chief 
ends  of  conversation  are  to  inform  or  to  be  informed, 
to  -please  or  to  -persuade,  I  wash  well-meaning,  sensi- 
ble men  would  not  lessen  their  power  of  doing  good 
by  a  positive,  assuming  manner,  that  seldom  fails  to 
disgust,  tends  to  create  opposition,  and  to  defeat 
every  one  of  those  purposes  for  which  speech  was 
given  to  us,  to  wit,  giving  or  receiving  information 
or  pleasure.  For,  if  you  would  inform,  a  positive  and 
dogmatical  manner  in  advancing  your  sentiments 
may  provoke  contradiction  and  prevent  a  candid 
■  attention.  If  you  wish  information  and  improve- 
ment from  the  knowledge  of  others,  and  yet  at  the 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 1 5 

same  time  express  yourself  as  firmly  fix'd  in  youi 
present  opinions,  modest,  sensible  men,  who  do 
not  love  disputation,  will  probably  leave  you  undis- 
turbed in  the  possession  of  your  error.  And  by  such 
a  manner,  you  can  seldom  hope  to  recommend 
yourself  in  -pleasing  your  hearers,  or  to  persuade 
those  whose  concurrence  you  desire.  Pope  says, 
judiciously : 

"  Men  should  be  taught  as  if  you  taught  them  not, 
And  things  unknown  propos' 'd  as  things  forgot ;" 

farther  recommending  to  us 

"  To  speak,  tho'  sure,  with  seeming  diffidence." 

And  he  might  have  coupled  with  this  line  that  which 
he  has  coupled  with  another,  I  think,  less  properly, 

"  For  want  of  modesty  is  want  of  sense." 

If  you  ask,  Why  less  properly?  I  must  repeat  the 
lines, 

"  Immodest  words  admit  of  no  defense, 
For  want  of  modesty  is  want  of  sense." 

Now,  is  not  want  of  sense  (where  a  man  is  so  un- 
fortunate as  to  want  it)  some  apology  for  his  want 
of  modesty?  and  would  not  the  lines  stand  more 
justly  thus? 

"  Immodest  words  admit  but  this  defense, 
That  want  of  modesty  is  want  of  sense." 

This,  however,  I  should  submit  to  better  judgments. 

My  brother  had,  in  1720  or  1721,  begun  to  print 

a  newspaper.     It  was  the  second  that  appeared  in 

America,  and  was  called  the  New  England  Courant. 


Il6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

The  only  one  before  it  was  the  Boston  News-Letter. 
I  remember  his  being  dissuaded  by  some  of  his 
friends  from  the  undertaking,  as  not  likely  to  suc- 
ceed, one  newspaper  being,  in  their  judgment, 
enough  for  America.*  At  this  time  (1771)  there 
are  not  less  than  five-and-twent}r.  He  went  on, 
however,  with  the  undertaking,  and  after  having 
worked  in  composing  the  types  and  printing  off  the 
sheets,  I  was  employed  to  carry  the  papers  thro' 
the  streets  to  the  customers. 

He  had  some  ingenious  men  among  his  friends, 
who  amus'd  themselves  by  writing  little  pieces  for 
this  paper,  which  gain'd  it  credit  and  made  it  more 
in  demand,  and  these  gentlemen  often  visited  us. 
Hearing  their  conversations,  and  their  accounts  of 
the  approbation  their  papers  were  received  with,  I 
was  excited  to  try  my  hand  among  them  ;  but,  being 
still  a  boy,  and  suspecting  that  my  brother  would 
object  to  printing  anything  of  mine  in  his  paper  if 
he  knew  it  to  be  mine,  I  contrived  to  disguise  my 


*  "This  was  written  from  recollection,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that, 
after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  the  author's  memory  should  have  failed 
him  in  regard  to  a  fact  of  small  importance.  The  "  New  England  Cour- 
ant"  was  the  fourth  newspaper  that  appeared  in  America.  The  first 
number  of  the  Boston  News-Letter  was  published  April  24th,  1704. 
This  was  the  first  newspaper  in  America.  The  Boston  Gazette  com- 
menced December  21st,  1719  ;  the  American  Weekly  Mercury,  at  Phila- 
delphia, December  22d,  1719;  the  New  England  Courant,  August  21st, 
1721.  Dr.  Franklin's  error  of  memory  probably  originated  in  the  cir- 
cumstance of  his  brother  having  been  the  printer  of  the  Boston  Gazette 
when  it  was  first  established.  This  was  the  second  newspaper  published 
in  America." — S. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  H7 

hand,  and,  writing  an  anonymous  paper,  I  put  it  in 
at  night  under  the  door  of  the  printing-house.  It 
was  found  in  the  morning,  and  communicated  to  his 
writing  friends  when  they  call'd  in  as  usual.  They 
read  it,  commented  on  it  in  my  hearing,  and  I  had 
the  exquisite  pleasure  of  finding  it  met  with  their 
approbation,  and  that,  in  their  different  guesses  at 
the  author,  none  were  named  but  men  of  some  char- 
acter among  us  for  learning  and  ingenuity.  I  sup- 
pose now  that  I  was  rather  lucky  in  my  judges,  and 
that  perhaps  they  were  not  really  so  very  good  ones 
as  I  then  esteem'd  them. 

Encourag'd,  however,  by  this,  I  wrote  and  con- 
vey'd  in  the  same  wray  to  the  press  several  more 
papers  which  were  equally  approv'd ;  and  I  kept 
my  secret  till  my  small  fund  of  sense  for  such  per- 
formances was  pretty  well  exhausted,  and  then  I  dis- 
covered it,  when  I  began  to  be  considered  a  little 
more  by  my  brother's  acquaintance,  and  in  a  man- 
ner that  did  not  quite  please  him,  as  he  thought, 
probably  with  reason,  that  it  tended  to  make  me  tool 
vain.  And,  perhaps,  this  might  be  one  occasion  of 
the  differences  that  we  began  to  have  about  this 
time.  Though  a  brother,  he  considered  himself  as 
my  master,  and  me  as  his  apprentice,  and,  accord- 
ingly, expected  the  same  services  from  me  as  he 
would  from  another,  while  I  thought  he  demean'd 
me  too  much  in  some  he  requir'd  of  me,  who  from 
a  brother  expected  more  indulgence.  Our  disputes 
were  often  brought  before  our  father,  and  I  fancy  I 


Il8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

was  either  generally  in  the  right,  or  else  a  better 
pleader,  because  the  judgment  was  generally  in  my 
favor.  But  my  brother  was  passionate,  and  had 
often  beaten  me,  which  I  took  extreamly  amiss ; 
and,  thinking  my  apprenticeship  very  tedious,  I 
was  continually  wishing  for  some  opportunity  of 
shortening  it,  which  at  length  offered  in  a  manner 
unexpected.* 

One  of  the  pieces  in  our  newspaper  on  some  po- 
litical point,  which  I  have  now  forgotten,  gave 
uffense  to  the  Assembly.  He  was  taken  up,  cen- 
sur'd,  and  imprison'd  for  a  month,  by  the  speaker's 
warrant,  I  suppose,  because  he  would  not  discover 
his  author.  I  too  was  taken  up  and  examin'd  be- 
fore the  council ;  but,  tho'  I  did  not  give  them 
any  satisfaction,  they  content'd  themselves  with 
admonishing  me,  and  dismissed  me,  considering 
me,  perhaps,  as  an  apprentice,  who  was  bound  to 
keep  his  master's  secrets. 

During  my  brother's  confinement,  which  I  re- 
sented a  good  deal,  notwithstanding  our  private 
differences,  I  had  the  management  of  the  paper; 
and  I  made  bold  to  give  our  rulers  some  rubs  in  it, 
which  my  brother  took  very  kindly,  while  others 
began  to  consider  me  in  an  unfavorable  light,  as  a 
young  genius  that  had  a  turn  for  libelling  and  satyr. 
My  brother's  discharge  was  accompany'd  with  an 


*  I  fancy  his  harsh  and  tyrannical  treatment  of  me  might  be  a  means 
of  impressing  me  with  that  aversion  to  arbitrary  power  that  has  stuck 
<c>  :ne  through  my  whole  life. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  119 

order  of  the  House  (a  very  odd  one),  that  "  James 
Franklin  should  no  longer  -print  the  -paper  called 
the  New  England  Conrant." 

There  was  a  consultation  held  in  our  printing- 
house  among  his  friends,  what  he  should  do  in  this 
case.  Some  proposed  to  evade  the  order  by  chang- 
ing the  name  of  the  paper ;  but  my  brother,  seeing 
inconveniences  in  that,  it  was  finally  concluded  on 
as  a  better  way,  to  let  it  be  printed  for  the  future 
under  the  name  of  Benjamin  Franklin  ;  and  to 
avoid  the  censure  of  the  Assembly,  that  might  fall 
on  him  as  still  printing  it  by  his  apprentice,  the  con- 
trivance was  that  my  old  indenture  should  be  re- 
turn'd  to  me,  with  a  full  discharge  on  the  back  of 
it,  to  be  shown  on  occasion,  but  to  secure  to  him  the 
benefit  of  my  service,  I  was  to  sign  new  indentures 
for  the  remainder  of  the  term,  which  were  to  be 
kept  private.  A  very  flimsy  scheme  it  was ;  how- 
ever, it  was  immediately  executed,  and  the  paper 
went  on  accordingly,  under  my  name  for  several 
months. 

At  length,  a  fresh  difference  arising  between  my 
brother  and  me,  I  took  upon  me  to  assert  my  free- 
dom, presuming  that  he  would  not  venture  to  pro- 
duce the  new  indentures.  It  was  not  fair  in  me  to 
take  this  advantage,  and  this  I  therefore  reckon  one 
of  the  first  errata  of  my  life ;  but  the  unfairness  of 
it  weighed  little  with  me,  when  under  the  impres- 
sions of  resentment  for  the  blows  his  passion  too 
often  urged  him  to  bestow  upon  me,  though  he  was 


120  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

otherwise  not  an  ill-natur'd  man :    perhaps  I  wa* 
too  saucy  and  provoking. 

When  he  found  I  would  leave  him,  he  took  care 
to  prevent  my  getting  employment  in  any  other 
printing-house  of  the  town,  by  going  round  and 
speaking  to  every  master,  who  accordingly  refus'd 
to  give  me  work.  I  then  thought  of  going  to  New 
York,  as  the  nearest  place  where  there  was  a  printer  ; 
and  I  was  rather  inclin'd  to  leave  Boston  when  I 
reflected  that  I  had  already  made  myself  a  little  ob- 
noxious to  the  governing  party,  and,  from  the  arbi- 
trary proceedings  of  the  Assembly  in  my  brother's 
case,  it  was  likely  I  might,  if  I  stay'd,  soon  bring 
myself  into  scrapes  ;  and  farther,  that  my  indiscrete 
disputations  about  religion  began  to  make  me  pointed 
at  with  horror  by  good  people  as  an  infidel  or  atheist. 
I  determin'd  on  the  point,  but  my  father  now  siding 
with  my  brother,  I  was  sensible  that,  if  I  attempted 
to  go  openly,  means  would  be  used  to  prevent  me. 
My  friend  Collins,  therefore,  undertook  to  manage 
a  little  for  me.  He  agreed  with  the  captain  of  a 
New  York  sloop  for  my  passage,  under  the  notion 
of  my  being  a  young  acquaintance  of  his,  that  had 
got  a  naughty  girl  with  child,  whose  friends  would 
compel  me  to  marry  her,  and  therefore  I  could  not 
appear  or  come  away  publicly.  So  I  sold  some  of 
my  books  to  raise  a  little  money,  was  taken  on  board 
privately,  and  as  we  had  a  fair  wind,  in  three  days 
I  found  myself  in  New  York,  near  300  miles  from 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN.  121 

home,  a  boy  of  but  17,*  without  the  least  recom- 
mendation to,  or  knowledge  of  any  person  in  the 
place,  and  with  very  little  money  in  my  pocket. 

My  inclinations  for  the  sea  were  by  this  time  worne 
out,  or  I  might  now  have  gratify'd  them.  But,  hav- 
ing a  trade,  and  supposing  myself  a  pretty  good 
workman,  I  offer'd  my  service  to  the  printer  in  the 
place,  old  Mr.  William  Bradford,  who  had  been  the 
first  printer  in  Pennsylvania,  but  removed  from 
thence  upon  the  quarrel  of  George  Keith.  He  could 
give  me  no  employment,  having  little  to  do,  and 
help  enough  already;  but  says  he,  "My  son  at 
Philadelphia  has  lately  lost  his  principal  hand, 
Aquila  Rose,  by  death;  if  you  go  thither,  I  believe 
he  may  employ  you."  Philadelphia  was  a  hundred 
miles  further ;  I  set  out,  however,  in  a  boat  for 
Amboy,  leaving  my  chest  and  things  to  follow  me 
round  by  sea. 

In  crossing  the  bay,  we  met  with  a  squall  that 
tore  our  rotten  sails  to  pieces,  prevented  our  getting 
into  the  Kill,  and  drove  us  upon  Long  Island.  In 
our  way,  a  drunken  Dutchman,  who  was  a  passen- 
ger too,  fell  overboard ;  when  he  was  sinking,  I 
reached  through  the  water  to  his  shock  pate,  and 
drew  him  up,  so  that  we  got  him  in  again.  His 
ducking  sobered  him  a  little,  and  he  went  to  sleep, 
taking  first  out  of  his  pocket  a  book,  which  he  de- 
sir'd  I  would  dry  for  him.     It  proved  to  be  my  old 


*  This  was  in  October,  1 723. — Ed. 
11  p 


122  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

favorite  author,  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  in 
Dutch,  finely  printed  on  good  paper,  with  copper 
cuts,  a  dress  better  than  I  had  ever  seen  it  wear  in 
its  own  language.  I  have  since  found  that  it  has 
been  translated  into  most  of  the  languages  of  Europe, 
and  suppose  it  has  been  more  generally  read  than 
any  other  book,  except  perhaps  the  Bible.  Honest 
John  was  the  first  that  I  know  of  who  mix'd  narra- 
tion and  dialogue ;  a  method  of  writing  very  engag- 
ing to  the  reader,  who  in  the  most  interesting  party 
finds  himself,  as  it  were,  brought  into  the  companj 
and  present  at  the  discourse.  De  Foe  in  his  Cruso, 
his  Moll  Flanders,  Religious  Courtship,  Family  In- 
structor, and  other  pieces,  has  imitated  it  with  suc- 
cess s  and  Richardson  has  done  the  same  in  his 
Pamela,  etc. 

When  we  drew  near  the  island,  we  found  it  was 
at  a  place  where  there  could  be  no  landing,  there 
being  a  great  surff  on  the  stony  beach.  So  we 
dropt  anchor,  and  swung  round  towards  the 
shore.  Some  people  came  down  to  the  water  edge 
and  hallow'd  to  us,  as  we  did  to  them ;  but  the  wind 
was  so  high,  and  the  surff  so  loud,  that  we  could  not 
hear  so  as  to  understand  each  other.  There  were 
canoes  on  the  shore,  and  we  made  signs,  and  hal- 
low'd that  they  should  fetch  us ;  but  they  either  did 
not  understand  us,  or  thought  it  impracticable,  so 
they  went  away,  and  night  coming  on,  we  had  no 
remedy  but  to  wait  till  the  wind  should  abate  :   and, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 23 

in  the  mean  time,  the  boatman  and  I  concluded  to 
sleep,  if  we  could;  and  so  crowded  into  the  scuttle, 
with  the  Dutchman,  who  was  still  wet,  and  the  spray 
beating  over  the  head  of  our  boat,  leak'd  thro'  to  us, 
so  that  we  were  soon  almost  as  wet  as  he.  In  this 
manner  we  lay  all  night,  with  very  little  rest ;  but, 
the  wind  abating  the  next  day,  we  made  a  shift  to 
reach  Amboy  before  night,  having  been  thirty  hours 
on  the  water,  without  victuals,  or  any  drink  but  a 
bottle  of  filthy  rum,  the  water  we  sail'd  on  being 
salt. 

In  the  evening  I  found  myself  very  feverish,  and 
went  in  to  bed  ;  but,  having  read  somewhere  that  cold 
wrater  drank  plentifully  was  good  for  a  fever,  I  fol- 
low'd  the  prescription,  sweat  plentifully  most  of  the 
night,  my  fever  left  me,  and  in  the  morning,  cross- 
ing the  ferry,  I  proceeded  on  my  journey  on  foot, 
having  fifty  miles  to  Burlington,  where  I  was  told 
I  should  find  boats  that  would  carry  me  the  rest  of 
the  way  to  Philadelphia. 

It  rained  very  hard  all  the  day ;  I  was  thoroughly 
&oak'd,  and  by  noon  a  good  deal  tired;  so  I  stoph 
at  a  poor  inn,  where  I  staid  all  night,  beginning  now  I 
to  wish  that  I  had  never  left  home.     I  cut  so  miser-' 
able  a  figure,  too,  that  I  found,  by  the  questions  ask'd 
me,  I  was  suspected  to  be  some  runawray  servant, 
and  in  danger  of  being  taken  up  on  that  suspicion. 
However,  I  proceeded  the  next  day,  and  got  in  the 
evening   to    an    inn,  within  eight  or  ten  miles  of 
Burlington,  kept  by  one  Dr.  Brown.     He  entered 


124  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

into  conversation  with  me  while  I  took  some  re- 
freshment, and,  finding  I  had  read  a  little,  became 
very  sociable  and  friendly.  Our  acquaintance  con- 
tinu'd  as  long  as  he  liv'd.  He  had  been,  I  imagine, 
an  itinerant  doctor,  for  there  was  no  town  in 
England,  or  country  in  Europe,  of  which  he 
could  not  give  a  very  particular  account^  He 
had  some  letters,  and  was  ingenious,  but  much  of 
an  unbeliever,  and  wickedly  undertook,  some  years 
after,  to  travestie  the  Bible  in  doggrel  verse,  as 
Cotton  had  done  Virgil.  By  this  means  he  set  many 
of  the  facts  in  a  very  ridiculous  light,  and  might 
have  hurt  weak  minds  if  his  work  had  been  pub- 
lished ;  but  it  never  was. 

At  his  house  I  lay  that  night,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing reach'd  Burlington,  but  had  the  mortification  to 
find  that  the  regular  boats  were  gone  a  little  before 
my  coming,  and  no  other  expected  to  go  before 
Tuesday,  this  being  Saturday  ;  wherefore  I  returned 
to  an  old  woman  in  the  town,  of  whom  I  had  bought 
gingerbread  to  eat  on  the  water,  and  ask'd  her 
advice.  She  invited  me  to  lodge  at  her  house  till  a 
passage  by  water  should  offer  ;  and  being  tired  with 
my  foot  travelling,  I  accepted  the  invitation.  She 
understanding  I  was  a  printer,  would  have  had  me 
stay  at  that  town  and  follow  my  business,  being 
ignorant  of  the  stock  necessary  to  begin  with.  She 
was  very  hospitable,  gave  me  a  dinner  of  ox-cheek 
with  great  good  will,  accepting  only  of  a  pot  of  ale 
in  return ;  and  I  thought  myself  fixed  till   Tuesday 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 25 

should  come.  However,  walking  in  the  evening  by 
the  side  of  the  river,  a  boat  came  by,  which  I  found 
was  going  towards  Philadelphia,  with  several  people 
in  her.  They  took  me  in,  and,  as  there  was  no 
wind,  we  row'd  all  the  way ;  and  about  midnight, 
not  having  yet  seen  the  city,  some  of  the  company 
were  confident  we  must  have  passed  it,  and  would 
row  no  farther  ;  the  others  knew  not  where  we  were  ; 
so  we  put  toward  the  shore,  got  into  a  creek,  landed 
near  an  old  fence,  with  the  rails  of  which  we  made 
a  fire,  the  night  being  cold,  in  October,  and  there 
we  remained  till  daylight.  Then  one  of  the  com- 
pany knew  the  place  to  be  Cooper's  Creek,  a  little 
above  Philadelphia,  which  we  saw  as  soon  as  we 
got  out  of  the  creek,  and  arriv'd  there  about  eight 
or  nine  o'clock  on  the  Sunday  morning,  and  landed 
at  the  Market-street  wharf. 

I  have  been  the  more  particular  in  this  description 
of  my  journey,  and  shall  be  so  of  my  first  entry  into 
that  city,  that  you  may  in  your  mind  compare  such 
unlikely  beginnings  with  the  figure  I  have  since 
made  there.  I  was  in  my  working  dress,  my  best 
cloaths  being  to  come  round  by  sea.  I  was  dirty 
from  my  journey ;  my  pockets  were  stufPd  out  with 
shirts  and  stockings,  and  I  knew  no  soul  nor  where 
to  look  for  lodging.  I  was  fatigued  with  travelling, 
rowing  and  want  of  rest,  I  was  very  hungry ;  and 
my  whole  stock  of  cash  consisted  of  a  Dutch  dollar, 
and  about  a  shilling  in  copper.     The  latter  I  gave 

the  people  of  the  boat  for  my  passage,  who  at  first 
11* 


/ 


126  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

refus'd  it,  on  account  of  my  rowing ;  but  I  insisted 
on  their  taking  it.  A  man  being  sometimes  more 
generous  when  he  has  but  a  little  money  than  when 
he  has  plenty,  perhaps  thro'  fear  of  being  thought 
to  have  but  little. 

Then  I  walked  up  the  street,  gazing  about  till 
near  the  market-house  I  met  a  boy  with  bread.  I 
had  made  many  a  meal  on  bread,  and,  inquiring 
where  he  got  it,  I  went  immediately  to  the  baker's 
he  directed  me  to,  in  Second-street,  and  ask'd  for 
bisket,  intending  such  as  we  had  in  Boston ;  but 
they,  it  seems,  were  not  made  in  Philadelphia. 
Then  I  asked  for  a  three-penny  loaf,  and  was  told 
they  had  none  such.  So  not  considering  or  know- 
ing the  difference  of  money,  and  the  greater  cheap- 
ness nor  the  names  of  his  bread,  I  bad  him  give  me 
three-penny  worth  of  any  sort.  He  gave  me,  ac- 
cordingly, three  great  puffy  rolls.  I  was  surpriz'd 
at  the  quantity,  but  took  it,  and,  having  no  room  in 
my  pockets,  walk'd  off  with  a  roll  under  each  arm, 
and  eating  the  other.  Thus  I  went  up  Market-street 
as  far  as  Fourth-street,  passing  by  the  door  of  Mr. 
Read,  my  future  wife's  father ;  when  she,  standing 
at  the  door,  saw  me,  and  thought  I  made,  as  I  cer- 
tainly did,  a  most  awkward,  ridiculous  appearance. 
Then  I  turned  and  went  down  Chesnut-street  and 
part  of  Walnut-street,  eating  my  roll  all  the  way, 
and,  coming  round,  found  myself  again  at  Market- 
street  wharf,  near  the  boat  I  came  in,  to  which  I 
went  for  a  draught  of  the  river  water ;   and,  being 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  \2J 

filled  with  one  of  my  rolls,  gave  the  other  two  to  a 
woman  and  her  child  that  came  down  the  river  in 
the  boat  with  us,  and  were  waiting  to  go  farther. 

Thus  refreshed,  I  walked  again  up  the  street, 
which  by  this  time  had  many  clean-dressed  people 
in  it,  who  were  all  walking  the  same  way.  I  joined 
them,  and  thereby  was  led  into  the  great  meeting- 
house of  the  Quakers  near  the  market.  I  sat  down 
among  them,  and,  after  looking  round  awhile  and 
hearing  nothing  said,  being  very  drowsy  thro' 
labor  and  want  of  rest  the  preceding  night,  I  fell 
fast  asleep,  and  continu'd  so  till  the  meeting  broke 
up,  when  one  was  kind  enough  to  rouse  me.  This 
was,  therefore,  the  first  house  I  was  in,  or  slept  in, 
in  Philadelphia.^ 

Walking  down  again  toward  the  river,  and,  look- 
ing in  the  faces  of  people,  I  met  a  young  Quaker 
man,  whose  countenance  I  lik'd,  and,  accosting  him, 
requested  he  would  tell  me  where  a  stranger  could 
get  lodging.  We  were  then  near  the  sign  of  the 
Three  Mariners.  "Here,"  says  he,  "is  one  place 
mat  entertains  strangers,  but  it  is  not  a  reputable 
house ;  if  thee  wilt  walk  with  me,  I'll  show  thee  a 
better."  He  brought  me  to  the  Crooked  Billet  in 
Water-street.  Here  I  got  a  dinner ;  and,  while  I 
was  eating  it,  several  sly  questions  were  asked  me, 
as  it  seemed  to  be  suspected  from  my  youth  and  ap- 
pearance, that  I  might  be  some  runaway. 

After  dinner,  my  sleepiness  return'd,  and  being 
shown  to  a  bed,  I  lay  down  without  undressing,  and 


128  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

slept  till  six  in  the  evening,  was  call'd  to  supper, 
went  to  bed  again  very  early,  and  slept  soundly  till 
next  morning.  Then  I  made  myself  as  tidy  as  I 
could,  and  went  to  Andrew  Bradford  the  printer's. 
I  found  in  the  shop  the  old  man  his  father,  whom  I 
had  seen  at  New  York,  and  who,  travelling  on  horse- 
back, had  got  to  Philadelphia  before  me.  He  intro- 
duc'd  me  to  his  son,  who  receiv'd  me  civilly,  gave 
me  a  breakfast,  but  told  me  he  did  not  at  present 
want  a  hand,  being  lately  suppli'd  with  one ;  but 
there  was  another  printer  in  town,  lately  set  up,  one 
Keimer,  who,  perhaps,  might  employ  me ;  if  not,  I 
should  be  welcome  to  lodge  at  his  house,  and  he 
would  give  me  a  little  work  to  do  now  and  then  till 
fuller  business  should  offer. 

The  old  gentleman  said  he  would  go  with  me  to 
the  new  printer ;  and  when  we  found  him,  "  Neigh- 
bor," says  Bradford,  "  I  have  brought  to  see  you  a 
young  man  of  your  business ;  perhaps  you  may 
want  such  a  one."  He  ask'd  me  a  few  questions, 
put  a  composing  stick  in  my  hand  to  see  how  I 
work'd,  and  then  said  he  would  employ  me  soon, 
though  he  had  just  then  nothing  for  me  to  do  ;  and, 
taking  old  Bradford,  whom  he  had  never  seen  be- 
fore, to  be  one  of  the  town's  people  that  had  a  good 
will  for  him,  enter'd  into  a  conversation  on  his  pre- 
sent undertaking  and  prospects ;  while  Bradford, 
not  discovering  that  he  was  the  other  printer's  father, 
on  Keimer's  saying  he  expected  soon  to  get  the 
greatest  part  of  the  business  into  his  own  hands. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  120, 

drew  him  on  by  artful  questions,  and  starting  little 
doubts,  to  explain  all  his  views,  what  interest  he 
reli'd  on,  and  in  what  manner  he  intended  to  pro- 
ceed. I,  who  stood  by  and  heard  all,  saw  imme- 
diately that  one  of  them  was  a  crafty  old  sophister, 
and  the  other  a  mere  novice.  Bradford  left  me  with 
Keimer,  who  was  greatly  surpris'd  when  I  told  him 
who  the  old  man  was. 

Keimer's  printing-house,  I  found,  consisted  of  an 
old  shattered  press,  and  one  small,  worn-out  font  of 
English,  which  he  was  then  using  himself,  composing 
an  Elegy  on  Aquila  Rose,  before  mentioned,  an  in- 
genious young  man,  of  excellent  character,  much 
respected  in  the  town,  clerk  of  the  Assembly,  and  a 
pretty  poet.  Keimer  made  verses  too,  but  very 
indifferently.  He  could  not  be  said  to  write  them, 
for  his  manner  was  to  compose  them  in  the  types 
directly  out  of  his  head.  So  there  being  no  copy, 
but  one  pair  of  cases,  and  the  Elegy  likely  to  require 
all  the  letter,  no  one  could  help  him.  I  endeavor'd 
to  put  his  press  (which  he  had  not  yet  us'd,  and  of 
which  he  understood  nothing)  into  order  fit  to  be 
work'd  with  ;  and,  promising  to  come  and  print  off 
his  Elegy  as  soon  as  he  should  have  got  it  ready,  1 
return'd  to  Bradford's,  who  gave  me  a  little  job  to 
do  for  the  present,  and  there  I  lodged  and  dieted. 
A  few  days  after,  Keimer  sent  for  me  to  print  off 
the  Elegy.  And  now  he  had  got  another  pair  of 
cases,  and  a  pamphlet  to  reprint,  on  which  he  set 
me  to  work. 


130  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

These  two  printers  I  found  poorly  qualified  for 
their  business.  Bradford  had  not  been  bred  to  it, 
and  was  very  illiterate ;  and  Keimer,  tho'  some- 
thing of  a  scholar,  was  a  mere  compositor,  knowing 
nothing  of  presswork.  He  had  been  one  of  the 
French  prophets,  and  could  act  their  enthusiastic 
agitations.*  At  this  time  he  did  not  profess  any 
particular  religion,  but  something  of  all  on  occasion  ; 
was  very  ignorant  of  the  world,  and  had,  as  I  after- 
ward found,  a  good  deal  of  the  knave  in  his  com- 
position. He  did  not  like  my  lodging  at  Bradford's 
while  I  work'd  with  him.  He  had  a  house,  indeed, 
but  without  furniture,  so  he  could  not  lodge  me ;  but 
he  got  me  a  lodging  at  Mr.  Read's,  before  men- 
tioned, who  was  the  owner  of  his  house ;  and,  my 
chest  and  clothes  being  come  by  this  time,  I  made 
rather  a  more  respectable  appearance  in  the  eyes 
of  Miss  Read  than  I  had  done  when  she  first  hap- 
pened to  see  me  eating  my  roll  in  the  street. 

I  began  now  to  have  some  acquaintance  among 
the  young  people  of  the  town,  that  were  lovers  of 
reading,  with  whom  I  spent  my  evenings  very  pleas- 
antly ;  and  gaining  money  by  my  industry  and  fru- 
gality* I  lived  very  agreeably,  forgetting  Boston 
as  much  as  I  could,  and  not  desiring  that  any  there 
should  know  where  I  resided,  except  my  friend  Col- 
lins, who  was  in  my  secret,  and  kept  it  when  I  wrote 
to  him.     At  length,  an  incident  happened  that  seni 

*  M.  Laboulaye  presumes  Keimer  was  one  of  the  Camisards  or  Pro- 
testants of  the  Cevennes,  so  persecuted  by  Louis  XIV. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  131 

me  back  again  much  sooner  than  I  had  intended. 
1  had  a  brother-in-law,  Robert  Holmes,  master  of  a 
sloop  that  traded  between  Boston  and  Delaware. 
He  being  at  Newcastle,  forty  miles  below  Philadel- 
phia, heard  there  of  me,  and  wrote  me  a  letter  men- 
tioning the  concern  of  my  friends  in  Boston  at  my  ab- 
rupt departure,  assuring  me  of  their  good  will  to  me, 
and  that  every  thing  would  be  accommodated  to  my 
mind  if  I  would  return,  to  which  he  exhorted  me  very 
earnestly.  I  wrote  an  answer  to  his  letter,  thank'd 
him  for  his  advice,  but  stated  my  reasons  for  quitting 
Boston  fully  and  in  such  a  light  as  to  convince  him 
I  was  not  so  wrong  as  he  had  apprehended. 

Sir  William  Keith,  governor  of  the  province,  was 
then  at  Newcastle,  and  Captain  Holmes,  happening 
to  be  in  company  with  him  when  my  letter  came  to 
hand,  spoke  to  him  of  me,  and  show'd  him  the  let- 
ter. The  governor  read  it,  and  seem'd  surpris'd 
when  he  was  told  my  age.  He  said  I  appear'd  a 
young  man  of  promising  parts,  and  therefore  should 
be  encouraged ;  the  printers  at  Philadelphia  were 
wretched  ones ;  and,  if  I  would  set  up  there,  he 
made  no  doubt  I  should  succeed ;  for  his  part,  he 
would  procure  me  the  public  business,  and  do  me 
every  other  service  in  his  power.  This  my  brother- 
in-law  afterwards  told  me  in  Boston,  but  I  knew  as 
yet  nothing  of  it;  when,  one  day,  Keimer  and  I 
being  at  work  together  near  the  window,  we  saw 
the  governor  and  another  gentleman  (which  proved 
to  be  Colonel  French,  of  Newcastle),  finely  dress'd, 


132  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

come  directly  across  the  street  to  our  house,  and 
heard  them  at  the  door. 

Keimer  ran  down  immediately,  thinking  it  a  visit 
to  him ;  but  the  governor  inquir'd  for  me,  came  up, 
and  with  a  condescension  and  politeness  I  had  been 
(mite  unus'd  to,  made  me  many  compliments,  de- 
sired to  be  acquainted  with  me,  blam'd  me  kindh 
for  not  having  made  myself  known  to  him  when  I 
first  came  to  the  place,  and  would  have  me  away 
with  him  to  the  tavern,  where  he  was  going  with 
Colonel  French  to  taste,  as  he  said,  some  excellent 
Madeira.  I  was  not  a  little  surprised,  and  Keimer 
star'd  like  a  pig  poison'd.  I  went,  however,  with 
the  governor  and  Colonel  French  to  a  tavern,  at  the 
corner  of  Third-street,  and  over  the  Madeira  he 
propos'd  my  setting  up  my  business,  laid  before  me 
the  probabilities  of  success,  and  both  he  and  Colo- 
nel French  assur'd  me  I  should  have  their  interest 
and  influence  in  procuring  the  public  business  of 
both  governments.  On  my  doubting  whether  my 
father  would  assist  me  in  it,  Sir  William  said  he 
would  give  me  a  letter  to  him,  in  which  he  would 
state  the  advantages,  and  he  did  not  doubt  of  pre- 
vailing with  him.  So  it  was  concluded  I  should  re- 
turn to  Boston  in  the  first  vessel,  with  the  governor's 
letter  recommending  me  to  my  father.  In  the  mean 
time  the  intention  was  to  be  kept  a  secret,  and  I 
went  on  working  with  Keimer  as  usual,  the  govei- 
nor  sending  for  me  now  and  then  to  dine  with  him, 
a  very  great   honor   I   thought  it,   and   conversing 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 33 

with  me  in  the  most  affable,  familiar,  and  friendly 
.manner  imaginable. 

About  the  end  of  April,  1724,  a  little  vessel  offer'd 
for  Boston.  I  took  leave  of  Keimer  as  going  to  see 
my  friends.  The  governor  gave  me  an  ample  letter, 
saying  many  flattering  things  of  me  to  my  father, 
and  strongly  recommending  the  project  of  my  set- 
ting up  at  Philadelphia  as  a  thing  that  must  make 
my  fortune.  We  struck  on  a  shoal  in  going  down 
the  bay,  and  sprung  a  leak ;  we  had  a  blustering 
time  at  sea,  and  were  oblig'd  to  pump  almost  con- 
tinually, at  which  I  took  my  turn.  We  arriv'd  safe, 
however,  at  Boston  in  about  a  fortnight.  I  had 
been  absent  seven  months,  and  my  friends  had 
heard  nothing  of  me ;  for  my  br.  Holmes  was 
not  yet  return'd,  and  had  not  written  about  me. 
My  unexpected  appearance  surpriz'd  the  family ; 
all  were,  however,  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  made 
me  welcome,  except  my  brother.  I  went  to  see 
him  at  his  printing-house.  I  was  better  dress'd 
than  ever  while  in  his  service,  having  a  genteel  new 
suit  from  head  to  foot,  a  watch,  and  my  pockets 
lin'd  with  near  five  pounds  sterling  in  silver.  He 
receiv'd  me  not  very  frankly,  look'd  me  all  over, 
and  turn'd  to  his  work  again. 

The  journeymen   were  inquisitive  where  I  had 

been,  what  sort  of  a  country  it  was,  and  how  I  lik'd 

it.     I  prais'd  it  much,  and  the  happy  life  I  led  in  it, 

expressing  strongly  my  intention  of  returning  to  it ; 

and,  one  of  them  asking  what  kind  of  money  we 
12 


T34  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

had  there,  I  produc'd  a  handful  of  silver,  and  spread 
it  before  them,  which  was  a  kind  of  raree-show  they 
had  not  been  us'd  to,  paper  being  the  money  of 
Boston.  Then  I  took  an  opportunity  of  letting 
them  see  my  watch ;  and,  lastly  (my  brother  still 
grum  and  sullen),  I  gave  them  a  piece  of  eight 
to  drink,  and  took  my  leave.  This  visit  of  mine 
offended  him  extreamly  ;  for,  when  my  mother  some 
time  after  spoke  to  him  of  a  reconciliation,  and  of 
her  wishes  to  see  us  on  good  terms  together,  and  that 
we  might  live  for  the  future  as  brothers,  he  said  I 
had  insulted  him  in  such  a  manner  before  his  people 
that  he  could  never  forget  or  forgive  it.  In  this, 
however,  he  was  mistaken. 

My  father  received  the  governor's  letter  with  some 
apparent  surprise,  but  said  little  of  it  to  me  for  some 
days,  when  Capt.  Holmes  returning  he  show'd  it 
to  him,  ask'd  him  if  he  knew  Keith,  and  what  kind 
of  man  he  was ;  adding  his  opinion  that  he  must  be 
of  small  discretion  to  think  of  setting  a  boy  up  in 
business  who  wanted  yet  three  years  of  being  at 
man's  estate.  Holmes  said  what  he  could  in  favor 
of  the  project,  but  my  father  was  clear  in  the  impro 
priety  of  it,  and  at  last  gave  a  flat  denial  to  it.  Then 
he  wrote  a  civil  letter  to  Sir  William,  thanking  him 
for  the  patronage  he  had  so  kindly  offered  me,  but 
declining  to  assist  me  as  yet  in  setting  up,  I  being, 
in  his  opinion,  too  young  to  be  trusted  with  the  man- 
agement of  a  business  so  important,  and  for  which 
the  preparation  must  be  so  expensive. 


BENJAMIN  Fit  AN  KLIN.  1 35 

My  fiiend  and  companion  Collins,  who  was  a 
clerk  in  the  post-office,  pleas'd  with  the  account  I 
gave  him  of  my  new  country,  determined  to  go 
thither  also ;  and,  while  I  waited  for  my  father's  de- 
termination, he  set  out  before  me  by  land  to  Rhode 
Tsland,  leaving  his  books,  which  were  a  pretty  col- 
lection of  mathematicks  and  natural  philosophy,  to 
come  with  mine  and  me  to  New  York,  where  he 
propos'd  to  wait  for  me. 

My  father,  tho'  he  did  not  approve  Sir  Wil- 
liam's proposition,  was  yet  pleas'd  that  1  had  been 
able  to  obtain  so  advantageous  a  character  from  a 
person  of  such  note  where  I  had  resided,  and  thai 
I  had  been  so  industrious  and  careful  as  to  equip 
myself  so  handsomely  in  so  short  a  time  ;  therefore, 
seeing  no  prospect  of  an  accommodation  between 
my  brother  and  me,  he  gave  his  consent  to  my  re- 
turning again  to  Philadelphia,  advis'd  me  to  behave 
respectfully  to  the  people  there,  endeavor  to  obtain 
the  general  esteem,  and  avoid  lampooning  and  libel- 
ing, to  which  he  thought  I  had  too  much  inclination  ; 
telling  me,  that  by  steady  industry  and  a  prudent  par- 
simony I  might  save  enough  by  the  time  I  was  one- 
and-twenty  to  set  me  up ;  and  that,  if  I  came  near 
the  matter,  he  would  help  me  out  with  the  rest.  This 
was  all  I  could  obtain,  except  some  small  gifts  as 
tokens  of  his  and  my  mother's  love,  when  I  em- 
bark'd  again  for  New  York,  now  with  their  appro- 
bation and  their  blessing. 

The  sloop  putting  in  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 


136  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  visited  my  brother  John,  who  had  been  married 
and  settled  there  some  years.  He  received  me  very 
affectionately,  for  he  always  lov'd  me.  A  friend  of 
his,  one  Vernon,  having  some  money  due  to  him  in 
Pensilvania,  about  thirty-five  pounds  currency, 
desired  I  would  receive  it  for  him,  and  keep  it  tili 
I  had  his  directions  what  to  remit  it  in.  Accord- 
ingly, he  gave  me  an  order.  This  afterwards  occa- 
sion'd  me  a  good  deal  of  uneasiness. 

At  Newport  we  took  in  a  number  of  passengers 
for  New  York,  among  which  were  two  young 
women,  companions,  and  a  grave,  sensible,  matron- 
like Quaker  woman,  with  her  attendants.  I  had 
shown  an  obliging  readiness  to  do  her  some  little 
services,  which  impress'd  her  I  suppose  with  a 
degree  of  good  will  toward  me;  therefore,  when 
she  saw  a  daily  growing  familiarity  between  me  and 
the  two  young  women,  which  they  appear'd  to 
encourage,  she  took  me  aside,  and  said,  "  Young 
man,  I  am  concern'd  for  thee,  as  thou  has  no  friend 
with  thee,  and  seems  not  to  know  much  of  the 
world,  or  of  the  snares  youth  is  expos'd  to ; 
depend  upon  it,  those  are  very  bad  women  ;  I  can 
see  it  in  all  their  actions;  and  if  thee  art  not  upcn 
thy  guard,  they  will  draw  thee  into  some  danger ; 
they  are  strangers  to  thee,  and  I  advise  thee,  in  a 
friendly  concern  for  thy  welfare,  to  have  no  ac- 
quaintance with  them."  As  I  seem'd  at  first  not  to 
think  so  ill  of  them  as  she  did,  she  mentioned  seme 
things  she  had  observ'd  and  heard  that  had  escap'd 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 37 

my  notice,  but  now  convinc'd  me  she  was  right.  1 
thank'd  her  for  her  kind  advice,  and  promis'd  to 
follow  it.  When  we  arriv'd  at  New  York,  they 
told  me  where  they  liv'd,  and  invited  me  to  come 
and  see  them ;  but  I  avoided  it,  and  it  was  well  1 
did ;  for  the  next  day  the  captain  miss'd  a  silver 
spoon  and  some  other  things,  that  had  been  taken 
out  of  his  cabbin,  and,  knowing  that  these  were  a 
couple  of  strumpets,  he  got  a  warrant  to  search  their 
lodgings,  found  the  stolen  goods,  and  had  the 
thieves  punish'd.  So,  tho'  we  had  escap'd  a  sunken 
rock,  which  we  scrap'd  upon  in  the  passage,  I 
thought  this  escape  of  rather  more  importance  to 
me. 

At  New  York  I  found  my  friend  Collins,  who  had 
arriv'd  there  some  time  before  me.  We  had  been 
intimate  from  children,  and  had  read  the  same  books 
together ;  but  he  had  the  advantage  of  more  time 
for  reading  and  studying,  and  a  wonderful  genius 
for  mathematical  learning,  in  which  he  far  outstript 
me.  While  I  liv'd  in  Boston,  most  of  my  hours  of 
leisure  for  conversation  were  spent  with  him,  and 
he  continu'd  a  sober  as  well  as  an  industrious  lad ; 
was  much  respected  for  his  learning  by  several  of 
the  clergy  and  other  gentlemen,  and  seemed  to  pro- 
mise making  a  good  figure  in  life.  But,  during  my 
absence,  he  had  acquir'd  a  habit  of  sotting  with 
brandy ;  and  I  found  by  his  own  account,  and  what 
1  heard  from  others,  that  he  had  been  drunk  every 
day  since  his  arrival  at   New  York,   and  behav'd 

12* 


138  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

very  oddly.  He  had  gam'd,  too,  and  lost  his 
money,  so  that  I  was  oblig'd  to  discharge  his  lodg- 
ings, and  defray  his  expenses  to  and  at  Philadelphia, 
which  prov'd  extremely  inconvenient  to  me. 

The  then  governor  of  New  York,  Burnet  (son 
of  Bishop  Burnet),*  hearing  from  the  captain  that 
a  young  man,  one  of  his  passengers,  had  a  great 
many  books,  desir'd  he  would   bring  me  to  see  him. 


*  Governor  Burnet  was  appointed  governor  of  the  Colony  of  New- 
York  and  New  Jersey  on  the  19th  of  April,  1720.  He  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  in  September  following.  He  was  a  man  of 
scholarly  tastes,  fond  of  accumulating  books,  with  a  turn  for  theological 
speculation,  which  he  indulged  in  making  a  commentary  upon  the  three 
periods  contained  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Daniel.  The  governor 
married  a  daughter  of  Cornelius  Van  Home,  of  New  York,  who  died 
soon.  He  was  transferred  to  the  governorship  of  Boston  in  July,  1728. 
His  administration  there,  however,  was  not  of  long  duration.  He  was 
taken  ill  from  exposure  on  a  fishing  excursion,  and  died  on  the  7th  of 
September,  1729. 

The  governor's  interest  in  theology  did  not  commend  him  especially 
to  the  authorities  at  home. 

The  Bishop  of  London  complained  that  clergymen  already  provided 
with  his  license  to  preach  in  the  colonies  were  subject  to  a  new  exami- 
nation, conducted  in  a  somewhat  unusual  manner  by  the  governor. 

"  Your  method  (wrote  Richard  West,  the  governor's  brother-in-law, 
Solicitor-General  to  the  Board  of  Trade)  is  to  prescribe  him  a  text,  to 
give  him  a  Bible  for  his  companion,  and  then  lock  him  into  a  room  by 
himself,  and  if  he  does  not  in  some  stated  time  produce  a  sermon  to 
your  satisfaction,  you  peremptorily  refuse  to  grant  him  your  instrument 
(permission  to  preach).  The  consequence  is,  the  man  must  starve. 
*  *  *  I  have  seen  a  great  many  complaints  against  governors,  but 
then  nobody  was  surprised,  because  I  could  always  give  some  pecuniary 
reason  for  what  they  had  done.  You  surely  are  the  first  who  evei 
brought  himself  into  difficulties  by  an  inordinate  care  of  souls ;  and  I 
am  sure  that  makes  no  part  of  your  commission." 

For  the  best  account  of  this  worthy  man,  see  Whitehead's  ■  'intribu- 
tfons  to  East  Jersey  History,  pp.  156-168. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 39 

I  waited  upon  him  accordingly,  and  should  have 
taken  Collins  with  me  but  that  he  was  not  sober. 
The  gov'r.  treated  me  with  great  civility,  show'd 
me  his  library,  which  was  a  very  large  one,  and  we 
had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  about  books  and 
authors.  This  was  the  second  governor  who  had 
done  me  the  honor  to  take  notice  of  me  ;  which,  to  a 
poor  boy  like  me,  was  very  pleasing. 

We  proceeded  to  Philadelphia.  I  received  on  the 
way  Vernon's  money,  without  which  we  could 
hardly  have  finish'd  our  journey.  Collins  wished 
to  be  employ'd  in  some  counting-house ;  but, 
whether  they  discover'd  his  dramming  by  his 
breath,  or  by  his  behaviour,  tho'  he  had  some 
recommendations,  he  met  with  no  success  in  any 
application,  and  continu'd  lodging  and  boarding  at 
the  same  house  with  me,  and  at  my  expense. 
Knowing  I  had  that  money  of  Vernon's,  he  was 
continually  borrowing  of  me,  still  promising  repay- 
ment as  soon  as  he  should  be  in  business.  At 
length  he  had  got  so  much  of  it  that  I  was  distress'd 
to  think  what  I  should  do  in  case  of  being  call'd  on 
to  remit  it. 

His  drinking  continu'd,  about  which  we  some- 
times quarrel'd  ;  for,  when  a  little  intoxicated,  he 
was  very  fractious.  Once,  in  a  boat  on  the  Dela- 
ware with  some  other  young  men,  he  refused  to  row 
m  his  turn.  "  I  will  be  row'd  home,"  says  he. 
*'We  will  not  row  you,"  says  I.  "You  must,  or 
slay  all  night  on  the  water,"  says  he,  "just  as  you 


[40  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

please. /?  The  others  said,  "Let  us  row;  what 
signifies  it?"  But,  my  mind  being  soured  with  his 
other  conduct,  I  continu'd  to  refuse.  So  he  swore 
he  would  make  me  row,  or  throw  me  overboard; 
and  coming  along,  stepping  on  the  thwarts,  toward 
me,  when  he  came  up  and  struck  at  me,  I  clapped 
my  hand  under  his  crutch,  and,  rising,  pitched  him 
head-foremost  into  the  river.  I  knew  he  was  a  good 
swimmer,  and  so  was  under  little  concern  about 
him  ;  but  before  he  could  get  round  to  lay  hold  of 
the  boat,  we  had  with  a  few  strokes  pull'd  her  out 
of  his  reach ;  and  ever  when  he  drew  near  the  boat, 
we  ask'd  if  he  would  row,  striking  a  few  strokes  to 
slide  her  away  from  him.  He  was  ready  to  die 
with  vexation,  and  obstinately  would  not  promise  to 
row.  However,  seeing  him  at  last  beginning  to 
tire,  we  lifted  him  in  and  brought  him  home  drip- 
ping wet  in  the  evening.  We  hardly  exchang'd  a 
civil  word  afterwards,  and  a  West  India  captain, 
who  had  a  commission  to  procure  a  tutor  for  the  sons 
of  a  gentleman  at  Barbadoes,  happening  to  meet 
with  him,  agreed  to  carry  him  thither.  He  left  me 
then,  promising  to  remit  me  the  first  money  he  should 
receive  in  order  to  discharge  the  debt ;  but  I  never 
heard  of  him  after. 

The  breaking  into  this  money  of  Vernon's  was 
one  of  the  first  great  errata  of  my  life  ;  and  this  affair 
show'd  that  my  father  was  not  much  out  in  his  judg- 
ment when  he  suppos'd  me  too  young  to  manage 
business  of  importance.     But  Sir  William,  on  read- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  141 

ing  his  letter,  said  he  was  too  prudent.  There  was 
great  difference  in  persons ;  and  discretion  did  not 
always  accompany  years,  nor  was  youth  always 
without  it.  "And  since  he  will  not  set  you  up,' 
says  he,  "  I  will  do  it  myself.  Give  me  an  inven- 
tory of  the  things  necessary  to  be  had  from  England, 
and  I  will  send  for  them.  You  shall  repay  me  when 
you  are  able ;  I  am  resolv'd  to  have  a  good  printer 
here,  and  I  am  sure  you  must  succeed."  This  was 
spoken  with  such  an  appearance  of  cordiality,  that 
I  had  not  the  least  doubt  of  his  meaning  what  he 
said.  I  had  hitherto  kept  the  proposition  of  my 
setting  up,  a  secret  in  Philadelphia,  and  I  still  kept 
it.  Had  it  been  known  that  I  depended  on  the 
governor,  probably  some  friend,  that  knew  him 
better,  would  have  advis'd  me  not  to  rely  on  him, 
as  I  afterwards  heard  it  as  his  known  character  j 
to  be  liberal  of  promises  which  he  never  meant  I 
to  keep.  Yet,  unsolicited  as  he  was  by  me,  how; 
could  I  think  his  generous  offers  insincere?  I  be- 
liev'd  him  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  world. 

I  presented  him  an  inventory  of  a  little  print'g- 
house,  amounting  by  my  computation  to  about  one 
hundred  pounds  sterling.  He  lik'd  it,  but  ask'd 
me  if  my  being  on  the  spot  in  England  to  chuse  the 
types,  and  see  that  every  thing  was  good  of  the 
kind,  might  not  be  of  some  advantage.  "Then," 
says  he,  "when  there,  you  may  make  acquaintances, 
and  establish  correspondences  in  the  bookselling 
and  stationery  way."     I   agreed  that  this  might  be 


142  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

advantageous.  "  Then,"  says  he  "get  yourself 
ready  to  go  with  Annis ;"  which  was  the  annual 
ship,  and  the  only  one  at  that  time  usually  passing 
between  London  and  Philadelphia.  But  it  would 
be  some  months  before  Annis  sail'd,  so  I  continu'd 
working  with  Keimer,  fretting  about  the  money  Col- 
lins had  got  from  me,  and  in  daily  apprehensions  of 
being  call'd  upon  by  Vernon,  which,  however,  did 
not  happen  for  some  years  after^3|r-v 

I  believe  I  have  omitted  mentioning  that,  in  my 
first  voyage  from  Boston,  being  becalm'd  off  Block 
Island,  our  people  set  about  catching  cod,  and  hauled 
up  a  great  many.  Hitherto  I  had  stuck  to  my  reso- 
lution of  not  eating  animal  food,  and  on  this  occa- 
sion I  consider'd,  with  my  master  Tryon,  the  taking 
every  fish  as  a  kind  of  unprovoked  murder,  since 
none  of  them  had,  or  ever  could  do  us  any  injury 
that  might  justify  the  slaughter.  All  this  seemed 
very  reasonable.  But  I  had  formerly  been  a  great 
lover  of  fish,  and,  when  this  came  hot  out  of  the 
frying-pan,  it  smelt  admirably  well.  I  balanc'd 
some  time  between  principle  and  inclination,  till  I 
recollected  that,  when  the  fish  were  opened,  I  saw 
smaller  fish  taken  out  of  their  stomachs ;  then 
thought  I,  "  If  you  eat  one  another,  I  don't  see  why 
we  mayn't  eat  you."  So  I  din'd  upon  cod  very 
heartily,  and  continued  to  eat  with  other  people, 
returning  only  now  and  then  occasionally  to  a  vege- 
table diet.  So  convenient  a  thing  it  is  to  be  a  rea- 
sonable creature,  since   it   enables   one  to  find   or 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 43 

make    a    reason    for   every   thing   one   has   a   mind 
to  do. 

Keimer  and  I  liv'd  on  a  pretty  good  familiar  foot- 
ing, and  agreed  tolerably  well,  for  he  suspected  no- 
thing of  my  setting  up.  He  retained  a  great  deal  of 
his  old  enthusiasms  and  lov'd  argumentation.  We 
therefore  had  many  disputations.  I  used  to  work 
him  so  with  my  Socratic  method,  and  had  trepann'd 
him  so  often  by  questions  apparently  so  distant  from 
any  point  we  had  in  hand,  and  yet  by  degrees  lead 
to  the  point,  and  brought  him  into  difficulties  and 
contradictions,  that  at  >ast  he  grew  ridiculously  cau- 
tious, and  would  hardly  answer  me  the  most  com- 
mon question,  without  asking  first,  "What  do  you 
intend  to  infer  from  that?"  However,  it  gave  him 
so  high  an  opinion  of  my  abilities  in  the  confuting 
way,  that  he  seriously  proposed  my  being  his  col- 
league in  a  project  he  had  of  setting  up  anew  sect. 
He  was  to  preach  the  doctrines,  and  I  was  to  con- 
found all  opponents.  When  he  came  to  explain 
with  me  upon  the  doctrines,  I  found  several  conun- 
drums which  I  objected  to,  unless  I  might  have  my 
way  a  little  too,  and  introduce  some  of  mine. 

Keimer  wore  his  beard  at  full  length,  because  some- 
where in  the  Mosaic  law  it  is  said,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
mar  the  corners  of  thy  beard."  He  likewise  kept 
the  Seventh  day,  Sabbath ;  and  these  two  points 
were  essentials  with  him.  1  dislik'd  both ;  but 
agreed  to  admit  them  upon  condition  of  his  adopting 
the  doctrine  of  using  no  animal  food.     "  I  doubt," 


144  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

said  he,  "my  constitution  will  not  bear  that."  I 
assur'd  him  it  would,  and  that  he  would  be  the 
better  for  it.  He  was  usually  a  great  glutton,  and 
I  promised  myself  some  diversion  in  half  starving 
him.  He  agreed  to  try  the  practice,  if  I  would  keep 
him  company.  I  did  so,  and  we  held  it  for  three 
months.  We  had  our  victuals  dress'd,  and  brought 
to  us  regularly  by  a  woman  in  the  neighborhood, 
who  had  from  me  a  list  of  forty  dishes,  to  be  pre- 
par'd  for  us  at  different  times,  in  all  which  there 
was  neither  fish,  flesh,  nor  fowl,  and  the  whim 
suited  me  the  better  at  this  time  from  the  cheapness 
of  it,  not  costing  us  above  eighteen  pence  sterling 
each  per  week.  I  have  since  kept  several  Lents 
most  strictly,  leaving  the  common  diet  for  that,  and 
that  for  the  common,  abruptly,  without  the  least  in- 
convenience, so  that  I  think  there  is  little  in  the 
advice  of  making  those  changes  by  easy  gradations. 
I  went  on  pleasantly,  but  poor  Keimer  suffered 
grievously,  tired  of  the  project,  long'd  for  the 
flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  and  order'd  a  roast  pig.  He 
invited  me  and  two  women  friends  to  dine  with  him ; 
but,  it  being  brought  too  soon  upon  table,  he  could 
not  resist  the  temptation,  and  ate  the  whole  before 
we  came. 

I  had  made  some  courtship  during  this  time  to 
Miss  Read.  I  had  a  great  respect  and  affection  for 
her,  and  had  some  reason  to  believe  she  had  the 
same  for  me ;  but,  as  I  was  about  to  take  a  long 
voyage,  and  we  were  both  very  young,  only  a  little 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 45 

above  eighteen,  it  was  thought  most  prudent  by  hei 
mother  to  prevent  our  going  too  far  at  present,  as 
a  marriage,  if  it  was  to  take  place,  would  be  more 
convenient  after  my  return,  when  I  should  be,  as  I 
expected,  set  up  in  my  business.  Perhaps,  too,  she 
thought  my  expectations  not  so  well  founded  as  I 
imagined  them  to  be. 

My  chief  acquaintances  at  this  time  were  Charles 
Osborne,  Joseph  Watson,  and  James  Ralph,  all 
lovers  of  reading.  The  two  first  were  clerks  to  an 
eminent  scrivener  or  conveyancer  in  the  town, 
Charles  Brogden ;  the  other  was  clerk  to  a  mer- 
chant. Watson  was  a  pious,  sensible  young  man, 
of  great  integrity ;  the  others  rather  more  lax  in 
their  principles  of  religion,  particularly  Ralph,  who, 
as  well  as  Collins,  had  been  unsettled  by  me,  for 
which  they  both  made  me  suffer.  Osborne  was 
sensible,  candid,  frank ;  sincere  and  affectionate  to 
his  friends;  but,  in  literary  matters,  too  fond  of 
criticising.  Ralph  was  ingenious,  genteel  in  his 
manners,  and  extremely  eloquent;  I  think  I  never 
knew  a  prettier  talker.  Both  of  them  great  admirers 
of  poetry,  and  began  to  try  their  hands  in  little 
pieces.  Many  pleasant  walks  we  four  had  together 
on  Sundays  into  the  woods,  near  Schuylkill,  where 
we  read  tc  one  another,  and  conferr'd  on  what  we 
read. 

Ralph  was  inclin'd  to  pursue  the  study  of  poetry, 
not  doubting  but  he  might  become  eminent  in  it, 
and  make  his  fortune  by  it,  alleging  that  the  best 

13  G 


146  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

poets  must,  when  they  first  began  to  write,  make  as 
many  faults  as  he  did.  Osborne  dissuaded  him, 
assur'd  him  he  had  no  genius  for  poetry,  and  ad- 
vis'd  him  to  think  of  nothing  beyond  the  business 
he  was  bred  to ;  that,  in  the  mercantile  way,  tho' 
he  had  no  stock,  he  might,  by  his  diligence  and 
punctuality,  recommend  himself  to  employment  as 
a  factor,  and  in  time  acquire  wherewith  to  trade  on 
his  own  account.  I  approv'd  the  amusing  one's 
self  with  poetry  now  and  then,  so  far  as  to  improve 
one's  language,  but  no  farther. 

On  this  it  was  propos'd  that  we  should  each  of 
us,  at  our  next  meeting,  produce  a  piece  of  our  own 
composing,  in  order  to  improve  by  our  mutual  ob- 
servations, criticisms,  and  corrections.  As  language 
and  expression  were  what  we  had  in  view,  we 
excluded  all  considerations  of  invention  by  agreeing 
that  the  task  should  be  a  version  of  the  eighteenth 
Psalm,  which  describes  the  descent  of  a  Deity, 
When  the  time  of  our  meeting  drew  nigh,  Ralph 
called  on  me  first,  and  let  me  know  his  piece  was 
ready.  I  told  him  I  had  been  busy,  and,  having 
little  inclination,  had  done  nothing.  He  then  show'd 
me  his  piece  for  my  opinion,  and  I  much  approv'd 
it,  as  it  appear'd  to  me  to  have  great  merit^ 
"Now,"  says  he,  "Osborne  never  will  allow 
the  least  merit  in  any  thing  of  mine,  but  makes 
1000  criticisms  out  of  mere  envy.  He  is  not  so 
jealous  of  you ;  I  wish,  therefore,  you  would  take 
this  piece,  and  produce  it  as  yours ;  I  will  pretend 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  147 

not  to  have  had  time,  and  so  produce  nothing.  We 
shall  then  see  what  he  will  say  to  it."  It  was 
agreed,  and  I  immediately  transcrib'd  it,  that  it 
might  appear  in  my  own  hand. 

We  met ;  Watson's  performance  was  read ;  there 
were  some  beauties  in  it,  but  many  defects.  Os- 
borne's was  read  ;  it  was  much  better ;  Ralph  did  it 
justice ;  remarked  some  faults,  but  applauded  the 
beauties.  He  himself  had  nothing  to  produce.  I 
was  backward  ;  seemed  desirous  of  being  excused  ; 
had  not  had  sufficient  time  to  correct,  etc. ;  but  no 
excuse  could  be  admitted  ;  produce  I  must.  It  was 
read  and  repeated ;  Watson  and  Osborne  gave  up 
the  contest,  and  join'd  in  applauding  it.  Ralph 
only  made  some  criticisms,  and  propos'd  some 
amendments ;  but  I  defended  my  text.  Osborne 
was  against  Ralph,  and  told  him  he  was  no  better  a 
critic  than  poet,  so  he  dropt  the  argument.  As 
they  two  went  home  together,  Osborne  expressed 
himself  still  more  strongly  in  favor  of  what  he 
thought  my  production ;  having  restrain'd  himself 
before,  as  he  said,  lest  I  should  think  it  flattery. 
"But  who  would  have  imagin'd,"  said  he,  "that 
Franklin  had  been  capable  of  such  a  performance ; 
such  painting,  such  force,  such  fire  !  He  has  even 
improv'd  the  original.  In  his  common  conversation 
he  seems  to  have  no  choice  of  words ;  he  hesitates 
and  blunders  ;  and  yet,  good  God  !  how  he  writes  !" 
When  we  next  met,  Ralph  discovered  the  trick  we 
had  plaid  him,  and  Osborne  was  a  little  laught  at. 


[48  AUTOBIOGRAPHT  OF 

This  transaction  fixed  Ralph  in  his  resolution  of 
becoming  a  poet.  I  did  all  I  could  to  dissuade  him 
from  it,  but  he  continued  scribbling  verses  till  Pope 
cured  him.*     He  became,  however,  a  pretty  good 


*  In  one  of  the  later  editions  of  the  Dunciad  occur  the  following 
lines  : 

"  Silence,  ye  wolves  !  while  Ralph  to  Cynthia  howls, 
And  makes  Night  hideous — answer  him,  ye  owls." 

Book  iii.  line  165. 

To  this  the  poet  adds  the  following  note : 

"  James  Ralph,  a  name  inserted  after  the  first  editions,  not  known  till 
he  writ  a  swearing-piece  called  Sawney,  very  abusive  of  Dr.  Swift, 
Mr.  Gay  and  myself.  These  lines  allude  to  a  thing  of  his  entitled  Night, 
a  poem.  This  low  writer  attended  his  own  works  with  panegyrics  in 
the  journals,  and  once  in  particular  praised  himself  highly  above  Mr. 
Addison,  in  wretched  remarks  upon  that  author's  account  of  English 
poets,  printed  in  a  London  journal,  September,  1728.  He  was  wholly 
illiterate  and  knew  no  language,  not  even  French.  Being  advised  to 
read  the  rules  of  dramatic  poetry  before  he  began  a  play,  he  smiled  and 
replied,  '  Shakespeare  writ  without  rules.'  He  ended  at  last  in  the 
common  sink  of  all  such  writers,  a  political  newspaper,  to  which  he  was 
recommended  by  his  friend  Arnal,  and  received  a  small  pittance  for  pay ; 
and  being  detected  in  writing  on  both  sides  on  one  and  the  same  day, 
he  publicly  justified  the  morality  of  his  conduct" 

In  the  first  book  of  the  Dunciad,  line  215,  there  is  another  allusion  to 
Ralph  : 

"And  see  !  the  very  Gazetteers  give  o'er, 
Ev'n  Ralph  repents,  and  Henley  writes  no  more." 

To  this  Bishop  Warburron  appends  the  following  note  : 

"  Gazetteers. — A  band  of  ministerial  writers  hired  at  the  price  men- 
tioned in  the  note  on  book  11,  ver.  316,  who,  on  the  very  day  their 
patron  quitted  his  post,  laid  down  their  paper  and  declared  they  would 
never  more  meddle  in  politics." 

In  the  note  here  referred  to  Warburton  says : 

"  The  Daily  Gazetteer  was  a  title  given  very  properly  to  certain  papers, 
erch  of  which  lasted  but  a  day.  Into  this  as  a  common  sink  was  re- 
ceived all  the  trash  which  had  been  before  dispersed  in  several  journals 
and  circulated  at  the  public  expense  of  the  nation.     The  authors  were 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 49 

prose  writer.  More  of  him  hereafter.  But,  as  I 
may  not  have  occasion  again  to  mention  the  other 
two,  I  shall  just  remark  here,  that  Watson  died  in 
my  arms  a  few  years  after,  much  lamented,  being 
the  best  of  our  set.  Osborne  went  to  the  West 
Indies,  where  he  became  an  eminent  lawyer  and 
made  money,  but  died  young.  He  and  I  had  made 
a  serious  agreement,  that  the  one  who  happen'd 
first  to  die  should,  if  possible,  make  a  friendly  visit 
to  the  other,  and  acquaint  him  how  he  found  things 
in  that  separate  state.  But  he  never  fulfill'd  his 
promise. 


the  same  obscure  men ;  though  sometimes  relieved  by  occasional  essays 
from  statesmen,  courtiers,  bishops,  deans  and  doctors.  The  meaner 
sort  were  rewarded  with  money ;  others  with  places  or  benefices,  from 
a  hundred  to  a  thousand  a  year.  It  appears  from  the  Report  of  the 
Secret  Committee^  for  inquiring  into  the  conduct  of  R.  Earl  of  O.,  '  that 
no  less  than  fifty  thousand  seventy-seven  pounds  eighteen  shillings  were 
paid  to  authors  and  printers  of  newspapers,  such  as  Free  Britons,  Daily 
Courants,  Corn-Cutters,  Journals,  Gazetteers  and  other  political  papers, 
between  February  10,  1731,  and  February  10,  1741,'  which  shows  the 
benevolence  of  one  minister  to  have  expended  for  the  current  dullness 
of  ten  years  in  Britain  double  the  sum  which  gained  Louis  XIV.  so 
much  honor  in  annual  pensions  to  learned  men  all  over  Europe.  In 
which  and  in  a  much  longer  time  not  a  pension  at  court  nor  preferment 
in  the  Church  or  universities  of  any  consideration  was  bestowed  on  any 
man  distinguished  for  his  learning,  separately  from  party-merit  or  pam- 
phlet-writing." 

"  It  is  worth  a  reflection,  that  of  all  the  panegyrics  bestowed  by  these 
writers  on  this  great  minister,  not  one  is  at  this  day  extant  or  remem- 
bered ;  nor  even  so  much  credit  done  to  his  personal  character  by  all 
they  have  written  as  by  one  short  occasional  compliment  of  our  author: 

"  Seen  him  I  have  ;  but  in  his  happier  hour 
Of  social  pleasure,  ill  exchanged  for  power ; 
Seen  him  uncumbered  by  the  venal  tribe. 
Smile  without  art  and  win  without  a  bribe." — Ed. 
13* 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

The  governor,  seeming  to  like  my  company,  had 
me  frequently  to  his  house,  and  his  setting  me  up 
was  always  mention'd  as  a  fixed  thing.  I  was  to 
take  with  me  letters  recommendatory  to  a  number 
of  his  friends,  besides  the  letter  of  credit  to  furnish 
me  with  the  necessary  money  for  purchasing  the 
press  and  types,  paper,  etc.  For  these  letters  I  was 
appointed  to  call  at  different  times,  when  they  were 
to  be  ready ;  but  a  future  time  was  still  named. 
Thus  he  went  on  till  the  ship,  whose  departure  too 
had  been  several  times  postponed,  was  on  the  point 
of  sailing.  Then,  when  I  call'd  to  take  my  leave 
and  receive  the  letters,  his  secretary,  Dr.  Bard, 
came  out  to  me  and  said  the  governor  was  extremely 
busy  in  writing,  but  would  be  down  at  Newcastle 
before  the  ship,  and  there  the  letters  would  be  de- 
livered to  me. 

Ralph,  though  married,  and  having  one  child, 
had  determined  to  accompany  me  in  this  voyage. 
It  was  thought  he  intended  to  establish  a  corre- 
spondence, and  obtain  goods  to  sell  on  commission  ; 
but  I  found  afterwards,  that,  thro'  some  discon- 
tent with  his  wife's  relations,  he  purposed  to  leave 
her  on  their  hands,  and  never  return  again.  Hav- 
ing taken  leave  of  my  friends,  and  interchang'd 
some  promises  with  Miss  Read,  I  left  Philadelphia 
in  the  ship,  which  anchor'd  at  Newcastle.  The 
governor  was  there  ;  but  when  I  went  to  his  lodging, 
the  secretary  came  to  me  from  him  with  the  civillest 
message  in  the  world,  that  he  could  not  then  see 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  1 5  I 

me,  being  engaged  in  business  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, but  should  send  the  letters  to  me  on  board, 
wish'd  me  heartily  a  good  voyage  and  a  speedy 
return,  etc.  I  returned  on  board  a  little  puzzled, 
but  still  not  doubting. 

Mr.  Andrew  Hamilton,  a  famous  lawyer  of  Phila- 
delphia, had  taken  passage  in  the  same  ship  for 
himself  and  son,  and  with  Mr.  Denham,  a  Quaker 
merchant,  and  Messrs.  Onion  and  Russel,  masters 
of  an  iron  work  in  Maryland,  had  engag'd  the 
great  cabin ;  so  that  Ralph  and  I  were  forced  to 
take  up  with  a  berth  in  the  steerage,  and  none  on 
board  knowing  us,  were  considered  as  ordinary  per- 
sons. But  Mr.  Hamilton  and  his  son  (it  was  James, 
since  governor)  return'd  from  Newcastle  to  Phila- 
delphia, the  father  being  recall'd  by  a  great  fee  to 
plead  for  a  seized  ship ;  and,  just  before  we  sail'd, 
Colonel  French  coming  on  board,  and  showing  me 
great  respect,  I  was  more  taken  notice  of,  and,  with 
my  friend  Ralph,  invited  by  the  other  gentlemen  to 
come  into  the  cabin,  there  being  now  room.  Ac 
cordingly,  we  remov'd  thither. 

Understanding  that  Colonel  French  had  brought 
on  board  the  governor's  despatches,  I  ask'd  the 
captain  for  those  letters  that  were  to  be  under  my 
care.  He  said  all  were  put  into  the  bag  together 
and  he  could  not  then  come  at  them  ;  but,  before 
we  landed  in  England,  I  should  have  an  opportunity 
of  picking  them  out ;  so  I  was  satisfied  for  the  pres 


152  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ent,  and  we  proceeded  on  our  voyage.  We  had  a 
sociable  company  in  the  cabin,  and  lived  uncom- 
monly well,  having  the  addition  of  all  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton's stores,  who  had  laid  in  plentifully.  In  this 
passage  Mr.  Denham  contracted  a  friendship  for  me 
that  continued  during  his  life.  The  voyage  was 
otherwise  not  a  pleasant  one,  as  we  had  a  great  deal 
of  bad  weather. 

When  we  came  into  the  Channel,  the  captain  kept 
his  word  with  me,  and  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
examining  the  bag  for  the  governor's  letters.  I 
found  none  upon  which  my  name  was  put  as  under 
my  care.  I  picked  out  six  or  seven,  that,  by  the 
handwriting,  I  thought  might  be  the  promised  let- 
ters, especially  as  one  of  them  was  directed  to 
Basket,  the  king's  printer,  and  another  to  some  sta- 
tioner. We  arriv'd  in  London  the  24th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1724.  I  waited  upon  the  stationer,  who  came 
first  in  my  way,  delivering  the  letter  as  from  Gover- 
nor Keith.  "  I  don't  know  such  a  person,"  says  he  ; 
but,  opening  the  letter,  "O!  this  is  from  Riddles- 
den.  I  have  lately  found  him  to  be  a  compleat 
rascal,  and  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  him,  nor 
receive  any  letters  from  him."  So,  putting  the  letter 
into  my  hand,  he  turn'd  on  his  heel  and  left  me  to 
serve  some  customer.  I  was  surprized  to  find  these 
were  not  the  governor's  letters ;  and,  after  recollect- 
ing and  comparing  circumstances,  I  began  to  doubt 
his    sincerity.      I    found   my  friend    Denham,   and 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 53 

opened  the  whole  affair  to  him.  He  let  me  into 
Keith's  character ;  told  me  there  was  not  the  least 
probability  that  he  had  written  any  letters  for  me  ; 
that  no  one,  who  knew  him,  had  the  smallest  de- 
pendence on  him  ;  and  he  laught  at  the  notion  of  the 
governor's  giving  me  a  letter  of  credit,  having,  as 
he  said,  no  credit  to  give.  On  my  expressing  some 
concern  about  what  I  should  do,  he  advised  me  to 
endeavor  getting  some  employment  in  the  way  of 
my  business.  "  Among  the  printers  here,"  said  he, 
"  you  will  improve  yourself,  and  when  you  return 
to  America,  you  will  set  up  to  greater  advantage." 

We  both  of  us  happen'd  to  know,  as  well  as  the 
stationer,  that  Riddlesden,  the  attorney,  was  a  very 
knave.  He  had  half  ruin'd  Miss  Read's  father  by 
persuading  him  to  be  bound  for  him.  By  this  letter 
it  appear'd  there  was  a  secret  scheme  on  foot  to  the 
prejudice  of  Hamilton  (suppos'd  to  be  then  coming 
over  with  us)  ;  and  that  Keith  was  concerned  in  it 
with  Riddlesden.  Denham,  who  was  a  friend  of 
Hamilton's,  thought  he  ought  to  be  acquainted  with 
it;  so,  when  he  arriv'd  in  England,  which  was  soon 
after,  partly  from  resentment  and  ill-will  to  Keith 
and  Riddlesden,  and  partly  from  good-will  to  him,  1 
waited  on  him,  and  gave  him  the  letter.  He  thank'd 
me  cordially,  the  information  being  of  importance 
10  him ;  and  from  that  time  he  became  my  friend, 
greatly  to  my  advantage  afterwards  on  many  occa- 
sions. 

But  what  shall  we  think  ot  a  governor's  playing 


154  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

such  pitiful  tricks,  and  imposing  so  grossly  on  a  poor 
ignorant  boy  !  It  was  a  habit  he  had  acquired.  He 
vvish'd  to  please  everybody ;  and,  having  little  to 
give,  he  gave  expectations.  He  was  otherwise  an 
ingenious,  sensible  man,  a  pretty  good  writer,  and 
a  good  governor  for  the  people,  tho'  not  for  his 
constituents,  the  proprietaries,  whose  instructions  he 
sometimes  disregarded.  Several  of  our  best  laws 
were  of  his  planning  and  passed  during  his  admin- 
istration. 

Ralph  and  I  were  inseparable  companions.  We 
took  lodgings  together  in  Little  Britain  at  three 
shillings  and  sixpence  a  week — as  much  as  we  could 
then  afford.  He  found  some  relations,  but  they 
were  poor,  and  unable  to  assist  him.  He  now  let 
me  know  his  intentions  of  remaining  in  London, 
and  that  he  never  meant  to  return  to  Philadelphia. 
He  had  brought  no  money  with  him,  the  whole  he 
could  muster  having  been  expended  in  paying  his 
passage.  I  had  fifteen  pistoles ;  so  he  borrowed 
occasionally  of  me  to  subsist,  while  he  was  looking 
out  for  business.  He  first  endeavored  to  get  into 
the  playhouse,  believing  himself  qualify'd  for  an 
actor;  but  Wilkes,*  to  whom  he  apply'd,  advis'd 
him  candidly  not  to  think  of  that  employment,  as  it 
was  impossible  he  should  succeed  in  it.  Then  he 
propos'd  to  Roberts,  a  publisher  in  Paternoster  Row, 
to  write  for  him  a  weekly  paper  like  the  Spectator, 


A  comedian. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  I  55 

on  certain  conditions,  which  Roberts  did  not  ap- 
prove. Then  he  endeavored  to  get  employment  as 
a  hackney  writer,  to  copy  for  the  stationers  and 
lawyers  about  the  Temple,  but  could  find  no 
vacancy. 

I  immediately  got  into  work  at  Palmer's,  then  a 
famous  printing-house  in  Bartholomew  Close,  and 
here  I  continu'd  near  a  year.  I  was  pretty  diligent, 
but  spent  with  Ralph  a  good  deal  of  my  earnings  in 
going  to  plays  and  other  places  of  amusement.  We 
had  together  consumed  all  my  pistoles,  and  now  just 
rubbed  on  from  hand  to  mouth.  He  seem'd  quite 
to  forget  his  wife  and  child,  and  I,  by  degrees,  my 
engagements  with  Miss  Read,  to  whom  I  never 
wrote  more  than  one  letter,  and  that  was  to  let  her 
know  I  was  not  likely  soon  to  return.  This  was 
another  of  the  great  errata  of  my  life,  which  I  should 
wish  to  correct  if  I  were  to  live  it  over  again.  In 
fact,  by  our  expenses,  I  was  constantly  kept  unable 
to  pay  my  passage. 

At  Palmer's  I  was  employed  in  composing  for 
the  second  edition  of  Wollaston's  "  Religion  of 
Nature."  Some  of  his  reasonings  not  appearing  to 
me  well  founded,  I  wrote  a  little  metaphysical  piece 
in  which  I  made  remarks  on  them.  It  was  entitled 
"  A  Dissertation  on  Liberty  and  Necessity,  Pleasure 
and  Pain."  I  inscribed  it  to  my  friend  Ralph ;  I 
printed  a  small  number.  It  occasion'd  my  being 
more  consider'd  by  Mr.  Palmer  as  a  young  man 
of  some   ingenuity,  tho'   he   seriously  expostulated 


156  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

with  me  upon  the  principles  of  my  pamphlet,  which 
to  him  appear'd  abominable.  My  printing  this 
pamphlet  was  another  erratum.*  While  I  lodg'd 
in  Little  Britain,  I  made  an  acquaintance  with  one 
Wilcox,  a  bookseller,  whose  shop  was  at  the  next 
doer.  He  had  an  immense  collection  of  second- 
hand books.  Circulating  libraries  were  not  then  in 
use ;  but  we  agreed  that,  on  certain  reasonable 
terms,  which  I  have  now  forgotten,  I  might  take, 
read,  and  return  any  of  his  books.  This  I  esteem'd 
a  great  advantage,  and  I  made  as  much  use  of  it  as 
I  could. 

My  pamphlet  by  some  means  falling  into  the 
hands  of  one  Lyons,  a  surgeon,  author  of  a  book 
entitled  "The  Infallibility  of  Human  Judgment,"  it 
occasioned  an  acquaintance  between  us.  He  took 
great  notice  of  me,  called  on  me  often  to  converse 
on  those  subjects,  carried  me  to  the  Horns,  a  pale 

alehouse  in Lane,  Cheapside,  and  introduced 

me  to  Dr.  Mandeville,  author  of  the  "  Fable  of  the 
Bees,"  who  had  a  club  there,  of  which  he  was  the 
soul,  being  a  most  facetious,  entertaining  companion. 
Lyons,  too,  introduced  me  to  Dr.  Pemberton,  at 
Batson's  Coffee-house,  who  promis'd  to  give  me  an 
opportunity,  some  time  or  other,  of  seeing  Sir  Isaac 


*  Until  recently  no  copy  of  this  tract  was  supposed  to  be  in  existence, 
but  a  copy  was  discovered  a  few  years  ago  in  London,  and  a  fac-simile 
of  it  obtained  for  Mr.  James  Parton,  who  gave  it  to  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society.  It  is  given  at  length  in  vol.  i.  of  Parton's  Life  of  Frank- 
lin. Another  copy  has  been  found  in  England  in  different  type,  showing 
that  the  pamphlet  was  reprinted  in  Franklin's  lifetime. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 57 

Newton,  of  which  1  was  extreamely  desirous ;  but 
this  never  happened. 

I  had  brought  over  a  few  curiosities,  among  which 
the  principal  was  a  purse  made  of  the  asbestos, 
which  purifies  by  fire.  Sir  Hans  Sloane  heard  of 
it,  came  to  see  me,  and  invited  me  to  his  house  in 
Bloomsbury  Square,  where  he  show'd  me  all  his 
curiosities,  and  persuaded  me  to  let  him  add  that  to 
the  number,  for  which  he  paid  me  handsomely.* 

In  our  house  there  lodg'd  a  young  woman,  a  mil- 
liner, who,  I  think,  had  a  shop  in  the  Cloisters. 
She  had  been  genteelly  bred,  was  sensible  and 
lively,  and  of  most  pleasing  conversation.  Ralph 
read  plays  to  her  in  the  evenings,  they  grew  inti- 
mate, she  took  another  lodging,  and  he  followed 
her.  They  liv'd  together  some  time  ;  but,  he  being 
still  out  of  business,  and  her  income  not  sufficient 
to  maintain  them  with  her  child,  he  took  a  resolu- 
tion of  going  from  London,  to  try  for  a  country 
school,  which  he  thought  himself  well  qualified  to 
undertake,  as  he  wrote  an  excellent  hand,  and  was 


*  From  the  letter  which  he  addressed  Mr.  Sloane  on  this  subject  one 
might  infer  that  the  persuasion  was  on  the  Doctor's  side.  "  As  you  are 
noted,"  he  wrote — he  was  then  in  his  19th  year — "  to  be  a  lover  of  curi- 
osities, I  have  informed  you  of  these  ;  and  if  you  have  any  inclination  to 
purchase  or  see  them,  let  me  know  your  pleasure  by  a  line  for  me  at  the 
Golden  Fan,  Little  Britain,  and  I  will  wait  upon  you  with  them.  I  am, 
sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

"B.  Franklin. 

"  P.  S.  I  expect  to  be  out  of  town  in  two  or  three  days,  and  therefore 
beg  an  immediate  answer." — Ed. 
14 


158  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

a  master  of  arithmetic  and  accounts.  This,  how- 
ever, he  deemed  a  business  below  him,  and  confi- 
dent of  future  better  fortune,  when  he  should  be 
unwilling  to  have  it  known  that  he  once  was  so 
meanly  employed,  he  changed  his  name,  and  did 
me  the  honor  to  assume  mine  ;  for  I  soon  after  had 
a  letter  from  him,  acquainting  me  that  he  was  set- 
tied  in  a  small  village  (in  Berkshire,  I  think  it  was, 
where  he  taught  reading  and  writing  to  ten  or  a 
dozen  boys,  at  sixpence  each  per  week),  recom- 
mending Mrs.  T to  my  care,  and  desiring  me 

to  write  to  him,  directing  for  Mr.  Franklin,  school- 
master, at  such  a  place. 

He  continued  to  write  frequently,  sending  me 
large  specimens  of  an  epic  poem  which  he  was  then 
composing,  and  desiring  my  remarks  and  correc- 
tions. These  I  gave  him  from  time  to  time,  but 
endeavor'd  rather  to  discourage  his  proceeding. 
One  of  Young's  Satires  was  then  just  published.  I 
copy'd  and  sent  him  a  great  part  of  it,  which  set  in 
a  strong  light  the  folly  of  pursuing  the  Muses  with 
any  hope  of  advancement  by  them.*     All  v"*s  in 


'Th'  abandoned  manners  of  our  writing  train 
May  tempt  mankind  to  think  religion  vain ; 
But  in  their  fate,  their  habit,  and  their  mien, 
That  gods  there  are  is  evidently  seen  : 
Heav'n  stands  absolv'd  by  vengeance  on  their  pen, 
And  marks  the  murderers  of  fame  from  men : 
Through  meagre  jaws  they  draw  their  venal  breath 
As  ghastly  as  their  brothers  in  Macbeth  : 
Their  feet  thro'  faithless  leather  meets  the  dirt. 
And  oftener  changed  their  principles  than  shirt : 
The  transient  vestments  of  these  frugal  men 
Hasten  to  paper  for  our  mirth  again : 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN.  I  59 

vain ;    sheets   of    the  poem    continued  to   come  by 

every  post.     In  the  mean  time,  Mrs.  T ,  having 

on  his  account  lost  her  friends  and  business,  was 
often  in  distresses,  and  us'd  to  send  for  me,  and 
borrow  what  I  could  spare  to  help  her  out  of  them. 
I  grew  fond  of  her  company,  and,  being  at  that  time 
under  no  religious  restraint,   and  presuming  upon 


Too  soon  (O  merry,  melancholy  fate  !) 
They  beg  in  rhyme,  and  warble  thro'  a  grate ; 
The  man  lampooned,  forgets  it  at  the  sight ; 
The  friend  thro'  pity  gives,  the  foe  through  spite ; 
And  though  full  conscious  of  his  injur'd  purse, 
Lintot  relents,  nor  Curll  can  wish  them  worse. 

1  An  author,  'tis  a  venerable  name  ! 
How  few  deserve  it  and  what  numbers  claim. 
Unbless'd  with  sense,  above  the  peers  refin'd, 
Who  shall  stand  up,  dictators  to  mankind  ? 
Nay,  who  dare  shine,  if  not  in  virtue's  cause  ? 
That  sole  proprietor  of  just  applause. 

1  Ye  restless  men  !  who  pant  for  letter'd  praise, 
With  whom  would  you  consult  to  gain  the  bays? 
With  those  great  authors  whose  fam'd  works  you  read  * 
'Tis  well ;  go,  then,  consult  the  laurel'd  shade, 
What  answer  will  the  laurel'd  shade  return? 
Hear  it  and  tremble,  he  commands  you  burn 
The  noblest  works,  his  envy'd  genius  writ, 
That  boasts  of  naught  more  excellent  than  wit 
If  this  be  true,  as  'tis  a  truth  most  dread, 
Woe  to  the  page  which  has  not  that  to  plead ! 
Fontaine  and  Chaucer,  dying,  wish'd  unwrote 
The  sprightliest  efforts  of  their  wanton  thought : 
Sidney  and  Waller,  brightest  sons  of  fame, 
Condemn'd  the  charm  of  ages  to  the  flame. 

'Thus  ends  your  courted  fame — does  lucre  then, 
The  sacred  thirst  of  gold,  betray  your  pen  ? 
In  prose  'tis  blamable,  in  verse  'tis  worse, 
Provokes  the  Muse,  extorts  Apollo's  curse ; 
His  sacred  influence  never  should  be  sold: 
'Tis  arrant  simony  to  sing  for  gild ; 
'Tis  immortality  should  fire  your  mind, 
Scorn  a  less  paymaster  than  all  mankind." 

Young,  vol.  iii.  Efitst.  ii.,  p.  7a— Ed 


l6o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

my  importance  to  her,  I  attempted  familiarities 
(another  erratum)  which  she  repuls'd  with  a  proper 
resentment,  and  acquainted  him  with  my  behaviour. 
This  made  a  breach  between  us ;  and,  when  he 
returned  again  to  London,  he  let  me  know  he 
thought  I  had  cancell'd  all  the  obligations  he  had 
been  under  to  me.  So  I  found  I  was  never  to  ex- 
pect his  repaying  me  what  I  lent  to  him,  or  advanc'd 
for  him.  This,  however,  was  not  then  of  much 
consequence,  as  he  was  totally  unable ;  and  in  the 
loss  of  his  friendship  I  found  myself  relieved  from  a 
burthen.  I  now  began  to  think  of  getting  a  little 
money  beforehand,  and,  expecting  better  work,  I 
left  Palmer's  to  work  at  Watts's,  near  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields,  a  still  greater  printing-house.  Here  I  con- 
tinued all  the  rest  of  my  stay  in  London 

At  my  first  admission  into  this  printing-house  1 
took  to  working  at  press,  imagining  I  felt  a  want  of 
the  bodily  exercise  I  had  been  us'd  to  in  America, 
where  presswork  is  mix'd  with  composing.  I  drank 
only  water ;  the  other  workmen,  near  fifty  in  num- 
ber, were  great  guzzlers  of  beer.  On  occasion,  I 
carried  up  and  down  stairs  a  large  form  of  types  in 
each  hand,  when  others  carried  but  one  in  both 
hands.  They  wondered  to  see,  from  this  and  seve- 
ral instances,  that  the  Water- American ,  as  they 
called  me,  was  stronger  than  themselves,  who 
drank  strong  beer  !  We  had  an  alehouse  boy  who 
attended  always  in  the  house  to  supply  the  work- 
men.    My  companion  at  the  press  drank  every  day 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  l6l 

a  pint  before  breakfast,  a  pint  at  breakfast  with  hi? 
bread  and  cheese,  a  pint  between  breakfast  and 
dinner,  a  pint  at  dinner,  a  pint  in  the  afternoon 
about  six  o'clock,  and  another  when  he  had  done 
his  day's  work.  I  thought  it  a  detestable  custom ; 
but  it  was  necessary,  he  suppos'd,  to  drink  strong 
beer,  that  he  might  be  strong 'to  labor.  I  endeavored 
to  convince  him  that  the  bodily  strength  afforded  by 
beer  could  only  be  in  proportion  to  the  grain  or  flour 
of  the  barley  dissolved  in  the  water  of  which  it  was 
made ;  that  there  was  more  flour  in  a  pennyworth 
of  bread ;  and  therefore,  if  he  would  eat  that  with  a 
pint  of  water,  it  would  give  him  more  strength  than 
a  quart  of  beer.  He  drank  on,  however,  and  had 
four  or  five  shillings  to  pay  out  of  his  wages  every 
Saturday  night  for  that  muddling  liquor ;  an  expense 
I  was  free  from.  And  thus  these  poor  devils  keep 
themselves  always  under. 

Watts,  after  some  weeks,  desiring  to  have  me  in 
the  composing-room,  I  left  the  pressmen ;  a  new 
bien  venu  or  sum  for  drink,  being  five  shillings,  was 
demanded  of  me  by  the  compositors.  I  thought  it 
an  imposition,  as  I  had  paid  below ;  the  master 
thought  so  too,  and  forbad  my  paying  it.  I  stood 
out  two  or  three  weeks,  was  accordingly  considered 
as  an  excommunicate,  and  had  so  many  little  pieces 
of  private  mischief  done  me,  by  mixing  my  sorts, 
transposing  my  pages,  breaking  my  matter,  etc., 
etc.,  if  I  were  ever  so  little  out  of  the  room,  and  all 
ascribed  to  the  chappel  ghost,  which  they  said  ever 

14* 


l62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

haunted  those  not  regularly  admitted,  that,  notwith- 
standing the  master's  protection,  I  found  myself 
oblig'd  to  comply  and  pay  the  money,  convinc'd 
of  the  folly  of  being  on  ill  terms  with  those  one  is 
to  live  with  continually. 

I  was  now  on  a  fair  footing  with  them,  and  soon 
acquir'd  considerable  influence.  I  propos'd  some 
reasonable  alterations  in  their  chappel*  laws,  and 
carried  them  against  all  opposition.  From  my  ex- 
ample, a  great  part  of  them  left  their  muddling 
breakfast  of  beer,  and  bread,  and  cheese,  finding  they 
could  with  me  be  suppyl'd  from  a  neighboring  house 
with  a  large  porringer  of  hot  water-gruel,  sprinkled 
with  pepper,  crumb'd  with  bread,  and  a  bit  of  but- 
ter in  it,  for  the  price  of  a  pint  of  beer,  viz.,  three 
half-pence.  This  was  a  more  comfortable  as  well 
as  cheaper  breakfast,  and  kept  their  heads  clearer. 
Those  who  continued  sotting  with  beer  all  day,  were 
often,  by  not  paying,  out  of  credit  at  the  alehouse, 
and  us'd  to  make  interest  with  me  to  get  beer ;  their 
light,  as  they  phrased  it,  being  out.  I  watch'd  the 
pay-table  on  Saturday  night,  and  collected  what  I 


*  "  A  printing-house  is  always  called  a  chapel  by  the  workmen,  the 
origin  of  which  appears  to  have  been,  that  printing  was  first  carried  on 
in  England  in  an  antient  chapel  converted  into  a  printing-house,  and  the 
title  has  been  preserved  by  tradition.  The  bien  venu  among  the  printers 
answers  to  the  terms  entrance  and  footing  among  mechanics ;  thus  a 
journeyman,  on  entering  a  printing-house,  was  accustomed  to  pay  one 
or  more  gallons  of  beer  for  the  good  of  the  chapel :  this  custom  was 
falling  into  disuse  thirty  years  ago  ;  it  is  very  properly  reiected  entirely 
iu  the  United  States."— W.  T.  F 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 63 

stood  engag'd  for  them,  having  to  pay  sometimes 
near  thirty  shillings  a  week  on  their  accounts.  This, 
and  my  being  esteem'd  a  pretty  good  riggite^  that 
is,  a  jocular  verbal  satirist,  supported  my  conse- 
quence in  the  society.  My  constant  attendance  (I 
never  making  a  St.  Monday)  recommended  me  to 
the  master ;  and  my  uncommon  quickness  at  com- 
posing occasioned  my  being  put  upon  all  work  of 
dispatch,  which  was  generally  better  paid.  So  I 
went  on  now  very  agreeably. 

My  lodging  in  Little  Britain  being  too  remote,  I 
found  another  in  Duke-street,  opposite  to  the  Rom- 
ish Chapel.  It  was  two  pair  of  stairs  backwards, 
at  an  Italian  warehouse.  A  widow  lady  kept  the 
house ;  she  had  a  daughter,  and  a  maid  servant,  and 
a  journeyman  who  attended  the  warehouse,  but 
lodg'd  abroad.  After  sending  to  inquire  my  char- 
acter at  the  house  where  I  last  lodg'd,  she  agreed 
to  take  me  in  at  the  same  rate,  3s.  6d.  per  week ; 
cheaper,  as  she  said,  from  the  protection  she  ex- 
pected in  having  a  man  lodge  in  the  house.  She 
was  a  widow,  an  elderly  woman  ;  had  been  bred  a 
Protestant,  being  a  clergyman's  daughter,  but  was 
converted  to  the  Catholic  religion  by  her  husband, 
whose  memory  she  much  revered ;  had  lived  much 
among  people  of  distinction,  and  knew  a  thousand 
anecdotes  of  them  as  far  back  as  the  times  of  Charles 
the  Second.  She  was  lame  in  her  knees  with  the 
gout,  and,  therefore,  seldom  stirred  out  of  her  room, 
so  sometimes  wanted   company ;   and  hers  was  so 


164  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

highly  amusing  to  me,  that  I  was  sure  to  spend  an 
evening  with  her  whenever  she  desired  it.  Our 
supper  was  only  half  an  anchovy  each,  on  a  very 
little  strip  of  bread  and  butter,  and  half  a  pint  of  ale 
between  us ;  but  the  entertainment  was  in  her  con- 
versation. My  always  keeping  good  hours,  and 
giving  little  trouble  in  the  family,  made  her  unwill- 
ing to  part  with  me ;  so  that,  when  I  talk'd  of  a 
lodging  I  had  heard  of,  nearer  my  business,  for  two 
shillings  a  week,  which,  intent  as  I  now  was  on 
saving  money,  made  some  difference,  she  bid  me 
not  think  of  it,  for  she  would  abate  me  two  shil- 
lings a  week  for  the  future ;  so  I  remained  with  her 
at  one  shilling  and  sixpence  as  long  as  I  staid  in 
London. 

In  a  garret  of  her  house  there  lived  a  maiden  lady 
of  seventy,  in  the  most  retired  manner,  of  whom 
my  landlady  gave  me  this  account :  that  she  was  a 
Roman  Catholic,  had  been  sent  abroad  when  young, 
and  lodg'd  in  a  nunnery  with  an  intent  of  becoming 
a  nun ;  but,  the  country  not  agreeing  with  her,  she 
returned  to  England,  where,  there  being  no  nunnery, 
she  had  vow'd  to  lead  the  life  of  a  nun,  as  near  as 
might  be  done  in  those  circumstances.  Accord- 
ingly, she  had  given  all  her  estate  to  charitable  uses, 
reserving  only  twelve  pounds  a  year  to  live  on,  and 
out  of  this  sum  she  still  gave  a  great  deal  in  charity, 
living  herself  on  water-gruel  only,  and  using  no  fire 
but  to  boil  it.  She  had  lived  many  years  in  that 
garret,  being  permitted  to  remain  there  gratis  by 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  165 

successive  Catholic  tenants  of  the  house  below,  as 
they  deemed  it  a  blessing  to  have  her  there.  A  priest 
visited  her  to  confess  her  everyday.  "1  have  ask'd 
her,"  says  my  landlady,  **  how  she,  as  she  liv'd, 
could  possibly  find  so  much  employment  for  a  con- 
fessor?" "Oh,"  said  she,  "it  is  impossible  to  avoid 
vain  thoughts"  I  was  permitted  once  to  visit  her. 
She  was  chearful  and  polite,  and  convers'd  plea- 
santly. The  room  was  clean,  but  had  no  other 
furniture  than  a  matras,  a  table  with  a  crucifix 
and  book,  a  stool  which  she  gave  me  to  sit  on,  and 
a  picture  over  the  chimney  of  Saint  Veronica  dis- 
playing her  handkerchief,  with  the  miraculous  figure 
of  Christ's  bleeding  face  on  it,  which  she  explainer1 
to  me  with  great  seriousness.  She  look'd  pale,  but 
was  never  sick ;  and  I  give  it  as  another  instance 
on  how  small  an  income,  life  and  health  may  be 
supported. 

At  Watts's  printing-house  I  contracted  an  acquaint- 
ance with  an  ingenious  young  man,  one  Wygate, 
who,  having  wealthy  relations,  had  been  better 
educated  than  most  printers ;  was  a  tolerable  Latin- 
ist,  spoke  French,  and  lov'd  reading.  I  taught  him 
and  a  friend  of  his  to  swim  at  twice  going  into  the 
river,  and  they  soon  became  good  swimmers.  They 
introduc'd  me  to  some  gentlemen  from  the  country, 
who  went  to  Chelsea  by  water  to  see  the  College 
and  Don  Saltero's  curiosities.  In  our  return,  at  the 
request  of  the  company,  whose  curiosity  Wygate 
had  excited,  I  stripped  and  leaped  into  the  river, 


1 66  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  swam  from  near  Chelsea  to  Blackfryar's,  per- 
forming on  the  way  many  feats  of  activity,  both 
upon  and  under  water,  that  surpris'd  and  pleas'd 
those  to  whom  they  were  novelties. 

I  had  from  a  child  been  ever  delighted  with  this 
exercise,  had  studied  and  practis'd  all  Thevenot's 
motions  and  positions,  added  some  of  my  own,  aim- 
ing at  the  graceful  and  easy  as  well  as  the  useful. 
All  these  I  took  this  occasion  of  exhibiting  to  the 
company,  and  was  much  flatter'd  by  their  admira- 
tion ;  and  Wygate,  who  was  desirous  of  becoming 
a  master,  grew  more  and  more  attach'd  to  me  on 
that  account,  as  well  as  from  the  similarity  of  our 
studies.  He  at  length  proposed  to  me  travelling  all 
over  Europe  together,  supporting  ourselves  every- 
where by  working  at  our  business.  I  was  once 
inclined  to  it ;  but,  mentioning  it  to  my  good  friend 
Mr.  Denham,  with  whom  I  often  spent  an  hour 
when  I  had  leisure,  he  dissuaded  me  from  it,  advis- 
ing me  to  think  only  of  returning  to  Pennsilvania, 
which  he  was  now  about  to  do. 

I  must  record  one  trait  of  this  good  man's  char- 
acter. He  had  formerly  been  in  business  at  Bristol, 
but  failed  in  debt  to  a  number  of  people,  compounded 
and  went  to  America.  There,  by  a  close  applica- 
tion to  business  as  a  merchant,  he  acquir'd  a  plen- 
tiful fortune  in  a  few  years.  Returning  to  England 
in  the  ship  with  me,  he  invited  his  old  creditors  to 
an  entertainment,  at  which  he  thank'd  them  for  the 
easy  composition  they  had  favored  him  with,  and, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  1 67 

when  they  expected  nothing  but  the  treat,  every 
man  at  the  first  remove  found  under  his  plate  an 
order  on  a  banker  for  the  full  amount  of  the  unpaid 
remainder  with  interest. 

He  now  told  me  he  was  about  to  return  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  should  carry  over  a  great  quantity  of 
goods  in  order  to  open  a  store  there.  He  propos'd 
to  take  me  over  as  his  clerk,  to  keep  his  books,  in 
which  he  would  instruct  me,  copy  his  letters,  and 
attend  the  store.  He  added,  that,  as  soon  as  I 
should  be  acquainted  with  mercantile  business,  he 
would  promote  me  by  sending  me  with  a  cargo  of 
flour  and  bread,  etc.,  to  the  West  Indies,  and  procure 
me  commissions  from  others  which  would  be  profit- 
able; and,  if  I  manag'd  well,  would  establish  me 
handsomely.  The  thing  pleas'd  me ;  for  I  was 
grown  tired  of  London,  remembered  with  pleasure 
the  happy  months  I  had  spent  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
wish'd  again  to  see  it;  therefore  I  immediately 
agreed  on  the  terms  of  fifty  pounds  a  year,  Penn- 
sylvania money ;  less,  indeed,  than  my  present 
gettings  as  a  compositor,  but  affording  a  better 
prospect. 

I  now  took  leave  of  printing,  as  I  thought,  for 
ever,  and  was  daily  employ'd  in  my  new  business, 
going  about  with  Mr.  Denham  among  the  tradesmen 
to  purchase  various  articles,  and  seeing  them  pack'd 
up,  doing  errands,  calling  upon  workmen  to  dis- 
patch, etc. ;  and,  when  all  was  on  board,  I  had  a 
few  days'  leisure.     On  one  of  these  days,  I  was,  to 


1 68  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

my  surprise,  sent  for  by.  a  great  man  I  knew  onlv 
by  name,  a  Sir  William  Wyndham,  and  I  waited  upon 
him.  He  had  heard  by  some  means  or  other  of  my 
swimming  from  Chelsea  to  Blackfriar's,  and  of  mv 
teaching  Wygate  and  another  young  man  to  swim 
in  a  few  hours.  He  had  two  sons,  about  to  set  out 
on  their  travels  ;  he  wish'd  to  have  them  first  taught 
swimming,  and  proposed  to  gratify  me  handsomely 
if  I  would  teach  them.  They  were  not  yet  come 
to  town,  and  my  stay  was  uncertain,  so  I  could  not 
undertake  it ;  but,  from  this  incident,  I  thought  it 
likely  that,  if  I  were  to  remain  in  England  and  open 
a  swimming-school,  I  might  get  a  good  deal  of 
money ;  and  it  struck  me  so  strongly,  that,  had  the 
overture  been  sooner  made  me,  probably  I  should 
not  so  soon  have  returned  to  America.  After  many 
years,  you  and  I  had  something  of  more  importance 
to  do  with  one  of  these  sons  of  Sir  William  Wynd- 
ham, become  Earl  of  Egremont,  which  I  shall  men- 
tion in  its  place. 

Thus  I  spent  about  eighteen  months  in  London ; 
most  part  of  the  time  I  work'd  hard  at  my  business, 
and  spent  but  little  upon  myself  except  in  seeing 
plays  and  in  books.  My  friend  Ralph  had  kept 
me  poor;  he  owed  me  about  twenty-seven  pounds, 
which  I  was  now  never  likely  to  receive ;  a  great 
sum  out  of  my  small  earnings  !  I  lov'd  him,  not- 
withstanding, for  he  had  many  amiable  qualities.  I 
had  by  no  means  improv'd  my  fortune ;  but  I  had 
picked  up  some  very  ingenious  acquaintance,  whose 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 69 

conversation  was  of  great  advantage  to  me ;  and  I 
had  read  considerably. 

N  We  sail'd  from  Gravesend  on  the  23d  of  July, 
1726.  For  the  incidents  of  the  voyage,  I  refer  you 
to  my  Journal,  where  you  will  find  them  all  minutely 
related.  Perhaps  the  most  important  part  of  that 
journal  is  the  plan*  to  be  found  in  it,  which  I 
formed  at  sea,  for  regulating  my  future  conduct  in 
life.  It  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  being  formed 
when  I  was  so  young,  and  yet  being  pretty  faith- 
fully adhered  to  quite  thro'  to  old  age. 

We  landed  in  Philadelphia  on  the  nth  of  Octo- 
ber, where  I  found  sundry  alterations.  Keith  was  no 
longer  governor,  being  superseded  by  Major  Gordon. 
I  met  him  walking  the  streets  as  a  common  citizen. 
He  seem'd  a  little  asham'd  at  seeing  me,  but  pass'd 
without  saying  any  thing.  I  should  have  been  as 
much  asham'd  at  seeing  Miss  Read,  had  not  her 
friends,  despairing  with  reason  of  my  return  after 
the  receipt  of  my  letter,  persuaded  her  to  marry 
another,  one  Rogers,  a  potter,  which  was  done  in 
my  absence.  With  him,  however,  she  was  never 
happy,  and  soon  parted  from  him,  refusing  to  cohabit 
with  him  or  bear  his  name,  it  being  now  said  that 
he  had  another  wife.     He  was  a  worthless  fellow. 


*  The  "  plan"  referred  to  as  the  most  "  important  part  of  the  Journal," 
is  not  found  in  the  manuscript  Journal  which  was  left  among  Franklin's 
papers.  The  copy  of  the  Journal  that  was  found  was  made  at  Reading 
in  1787  ;  the  original  is  probably  lost.  See  Sparks'  Memoir  of  Frank- 
lin,  Appendix  II. — Ed. 

15  h 


170  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

tho'  an  excellent  workman,  which  was  the  tempta- 
tion to  her  friends.  He  got  into  debt,  ran  away  in 
1727  or  1728,  went  to  the  West  Indies,  and  died 
there.  Keimer  had  got  a  better  house,  a  shop  well 
supply'd  with  stationery,  plenty  of  new  types,  a 
number  of  hands,  tho'  none  good,  and  seem'd  to 
have  a  great  deal  of  business. 

Mr.  Denham  took  a  store  in  Water-street,  where 
we  open'd  our  goods ;  I  attended  the  business  dili- 
gently, studied  accounts,  and  grew,  in  a  little  time, 
expert  at  selling.  We  lodg'd  and  boarded  together ; 
he  counsell'd  me  as  a  father,  having  a  sincere  re- 
gard for  me.  I  respected  and  lov'd  him,  and  we 
might  have  gone  on  together  very  happy ;  but,  in 
the  beginning  of  February,  172-f,  when  I  had  just 
pass'd  my  twenty-first  year,  we  both  were  taken  ill. 
My  distemper  was  a  pleurisy,  which  very  nearly 
carried  me  off.  I  suffered  a  good  deal,  gave  up  the 
point  in  my  own  mind,  and  was  rather  disappointed 
when  I  found  myself  recovering,  regretting,  in  some 
degree,  that  I  must  now,  some  time  or  other,  have 
all  that  disagreeable  work  to  do  over  again.  I  for- 
get what  his  distemper  was ;  it  held  him  a  long 
time,  and  at  length  carried  him  off.  He  left  me  a 
small  legacy  in  a  nuncupative  will,  as  a  token  of 
his  kindness  for  me,  and  he  left  me  once  more  to 
the  wide  world ;  for  the  store  was  taken  into  the 
care  of  his  executors,  and  my  employment  undei 
him  ended. 

My  brother-in-law,  Holmes,  being  now  at  Phila- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  171 

delphia,  advised  my  return  to  my  business ;  and 
Keimer  tempted  me,  with  an  offer  of  large  wages 
by  the  year,  to  come  and  take  the  management  of 
his  printing-house,  that  he  might  better  attend  his 
stationer's  shop.  I  had  heard  a  bad  character  of 
him  in  London  from  his  wife  and  her  friends,  and 
was  not  fond  of  having  any  more  to  do  with  him.  I 
tri'd  for  farther  employment  as  a  merchant's  clerk ; 
but,  not  readily  meeting  with  any,  I  clos'd  again 
with  Keimer.  I  found  in  his  house  these  hands  : 
Hugh  Meredith,  a  Welsh  Pensilvanian,  thirty 
years  of  age,  bred  to  country  work ;  honest,  sensi- 
ble, had  a  great  deal  of  solid  observation,  was  some- 
thing of  a  reader,  but  given  to  drink.  Stephen 
Potts,  a  young  countryman  of  full  age,  bred  to  the 
same,  of  uncommon  natural  parts,  and  great  wit 
and  humor,  but  a  little  idle.  These  he  had  agreed 
with  at  extream  low  wages  per  week,  to  be  rais'd  a 
shilling  every  three  months,  as  they  wrould  deserve 
by  improving  in  their  business ;  and  the  expectation 
of  these  high  wages,  to  come  on  hereafter,  was 
what  he  had  drawn  them  in  with.  Meredith  was  to 
work  at  press,  Potts  at  book-binding,  which  he,  by 
agreement,  was  to  teach  them,  though  he  knew 
neither  one  nor  t'other.  John ,  a  wild  Irish- 
man, brought  up  to  no  business,  whose  service,  for 
four  years,  Keimer  had  purchased  from  the  captain 
of  a  ship  ;  he,  too,  was  to  be  made  a  pressman. 
George  Webb,  an  Oxford  scholar,  whose  time  for 
four  years  he  had  likewise  bought,  intending  him 


172  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

for  a  compositor,  of  whom  more  presently ;  and 
David  Harry,  a  country  boy,  whom  he  had  taken 
apprentice. 

I  soon  perceiv'd  that  the  intention  of  engaging 
me  at  wages  so  much  higher  than  he  had  been  us'd 
to  give,  was,  to  have  these  raw,  cheap  hands  form'd 
thro'  me  ;  and,  as  soon  as  I  had  instructed  them,  then 
they  being  all  articled  to  him,  he  should  be  able  to 
do  without  me.  I  went  on,  however,  very  cheerfully, 
put  his  printing-house  in  order,  which  had  been  in 
great  confusion,  and  brought  his  hands  by  degrees 
to  mind  their  business  and  to  do  it  better. 

It  was  an  odd  thing  to  find  an  Oxford  scholar  in 
the  situation  of  a  bought  servant.  He  wras  not  more 
tha^i  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  gave  me  this  ac- 
count of  himself;  that  he  was  born  in  Gloucester, 
educated  at  a  grammar-school  there,  had  been  dis- 
tinguished among  the  scholars  for  some  apparent 
superiority  in  performing  his  part,  when  they  ex- 
hibited plays  ;  belong'd  to  the  Witty  Club  there,  and 
had  written  some  pieces  in  prose  and  verse,  which 
were  printed  in  the  Gloucester  newspapers ;  thence 
he  was  sent  to  Oxford  ;  where  he  continued  about  a 
year,  but  not  well  satisfi'd,  wishing  of  all  things  to 
see  London,  and  become  a  player.  At  length,  re 
ceiving  his  quarterly  allowance  of  fifteen  guineas, 
instead  of  discharging  his  debts  he  walk'd  out  of 
town,  hid  his  gown  in  a  furze  bush,  and  footed  it 
to  London,  where,  having  no  friend  to  advise  him., 
he  fell  into  bad  company,  soon  spent  his  guineas, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 73 

found  no  means  of  being  introduced  among  the 
players,  grew  necessitous,  pawn'd  his  cloaths,  and 
wanted  bread.  Walking  the  street  very  hungry, 
and  not  knowing  what  to  do  with  himself,  a  crimp's 
bill  was  put  into  his  hand,  offering  immediate  en- 
tertainment and  encouragement  to  such  as  would 
bind  themselves  to  serve  in  America.  He  went 
directly,  sign'd  the  indentures,  was  put  into  the  ship, 
and  came  over,  never  writing  a  line  to  acquaint  his 
friends  what  was  become  of  him.  He  was  lively, 
witty,  good-natur'd,  and  a  pleasant  companion,  but 
idle,  thoughtless,  and  imprudent  to  the  last  degree. 

John,  the  Irishman,  soon  ran  away ;  with  the  rest 
I  began  to  live  very  agreeably,  for  they  all  respected 
me  the  more,  as  they  found  Keimer  incapable  of 
instructing  them,  and  that  from  me  they  learned 
something  daily.  We  never  worked  on  Saturday, 
that  being  Keimer's  Sabbath,  so  I  had  two  days 
for  reading.  My  acquaintance  with  ingenious  peo- 
ple in  the  town  increased.  Keimer  himself  treated 
me  with  great  civility  and  apparent  regard,  and 
nothing  now  made  me  uneasy  but  my  debt  to  Ver- 
non, which  I  was  yet  unable  to  pay,  being  hitherto 
but  a  poor  oeconomist.  He,  however,  kindly  made 
no  demand  of  it. 

Our  printing-house  often  wanted  sorts,  and  there 
was  no  letter-founder  in  America ;  I  had  seen  types 
cast  at  James's  in  London,  but  without  much  atten- 
tion to  the  manner ;  however,  I  now  contrived  a 
mould,  made  use  of  the  letters  we  had  as  puncheons, 

15* 


174  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

struck  the  matrices  in  lead,  and  thus  supply'd  in  a 
pretty  tolerable  way  all  deficiencies.  I  also  en- 
grav'd  several  things  on  occasion ;  I  made  the  ink  ; 
I  was  warehouseman,  and  everything,  and,  in  short, 
quite  a  fac-totum. 

But,  however  serviceable  I  might  be,  I  found  that 
my  services  became  every  day  of  less  importance,  as 
the  other  hands  improv'd  in  the  business  ;  and,  when 
Keimer  paid  my  second  quarter's  wages,  he  let  me 
know  that  he  felt  them  too  heavy,  and  thought  I 
should  make  an  abatement.  He  grew  by  degrees 
less  civil,  put  on  more  of  the  master,  frequently 
found  fault,  was  captious,  and  seem'd  ready  for  an 
outbreaking.  I  went  on,  nevertheless,  with  a  good 
deal  of  patience,  thinking  that  his  encumber'd  cir- 
cumstances were  partly  the  cause.  At  length  a 
trifle  snapt  our  connections ;  for,  a  great  noise  hap- 
pening near  the  court-house,  I  put  my  head  out  of 
the  window  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Keimer, 
being  in  the  street,  look'd  up  and  saw  me,  call'd  out 
to  me  in  a  loud  voice  and  angry  tone  to  mind  my 
business,  adding  some  reproachful  words,  that  net- 
tled me  the  more  for  their  publicity,  all  the  neigh- 
bors who  were  looking  out  on  the  same  occasion, 
being  witnesses  how  I  was  treated.  He  came  up 
immediately  into  the  printing-house,  continu'd  the 
quarrel,  high  words  pass'd  on  both  sides,  he  gave 
me  the  quarter's  warning  we  had  stipulated,  ex- 
pressing a  wish  that  he  had  not  been  oblig'd  to  so 
long  a  warning.     I  told  him  his  wish  was  unneces- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  175 

«ary,  for  I  would  leave  him  that  instant;  and  so, 
taking  my  hat,  walk'd  out  of  doors,  desiring  Mere- 
dith, whom  I  saw  below,  to  take  care  of  some  things 
I  left,  and  bring  them  to  my  lodgings. 

Meredith  came  accordingly  in  the  evening,  when 
we  talked  my  affair  over.  He  had  conceiv'd  a 
great  regard  for  me,  and  was  very  unwilling  that  1 
should  leave  the  house  while  he  remain'd  in  it.  He 
dissuaded  me  from  returning  to  my  native  country, 
which  I  began  to  think  of;  he  reminded  me  that 
Keimer  was  in  debt  for  all  he  possess'd ;  that  his 
creditors  began  to  be  uneasy ;  that  he  kept  his  shop 
miserably,  sold  often  without  profit  for  ready  money, 
and  often  trusted  without  keeping  accounts  ;  that  he 
must  therefore  fail,  which  would  make  a  vacancy  I 
might  profit  of.  I  objected  my  want  of  money.  He 
then  let  me  know  that  his  father  had  a  high  opinion 
of  me,  and,  from  some  discourse  that  had  pass'd  be- 
tween them,  he  was  sure  would  advance  money  to 
set  us  up,  if  I  would  enter  into  partnership  with 
him.  "My  time,"  says  he,  "will  be  out  with 
Keimer  in  the  spring ;  by  that  time  we  may  have 
our  press  and  types  in  from  London.  I  am  sensible 
I  am  no  workman ;  if  you  like  it,  your  skill  in  the 
business  shall  be  set  against  the  stock  I  furnish,  and 
we  will  share  the  profits  equally." 

The  proposal  was  agreeable,  and  I  consented; 
his  father  was  in  town  and  approv'd  of  it ;  the  more 
as  he  saw  I  had  great  influence  with  his  son,  had 
prevail'd  on  him  to  abstain  long  from  dram-drink- 


1 76  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ing,  and  he  hop'd  might  break  him  of  that  wretched 
habit  entirely,  when  we  came  to  be  so  closely  con- 
nected. I  gave  an  inventory  to  the  father,  who 
carry'd  it  to  a  merchant ;  the  things  were  sent  for, 
the  secret  was  to  be  kept  till  they  should  arrive,  and 
in  the  mean  time  I  was  to  get  work,  if  I  could,  at 
the  other  printing-house.  But  I  found  no  vacancy 
thei  e,  and  so  remain'd  idle  a  few  days,  when  Keimer, 
on  a  prospect  of  being  employ'd  to  print  some  paper 
money  in  New  Jersey,  which  would  require  cuts 
and  various  types  that  I  only  could  supply,  and 
apprehending  Bradford  might  engage  me  and  get 
the  jobb  from  him,  sent  me  a  very  civil  message,  that 
old  friends  should  not  part  for  a  few  words,  the 
effect  of  sudden  passion,  and  wishing  me  to  return. 
Meredith  persuaded  me  to  comply,  as  it  would  give 
more  opportunity  for  his  improvement  under  my 
daily  instructions ;  so  I  return'd,  and  we  went  on 
more  smoothly  than  for  some  time  before.  The 
New  Jersey  jobb  was  obtain'd,  I  contriv'd  a  copper- 
plate press  for  it,  the  first  that  had  been  seen  in  the 
country ;  I  cut  several  ornaments  and  checks  for 
the  bills.  We  went  together  to  Burlington,  where 
I  executed  the  whole  to  satisfaction  ;  and  he  received 
so  large  a  sum  for  the  work  as  to  be  enabled  thereby 
to  keep  his  head  much  longer  above  water. 

At  Burlington  I  made  an  acquaintance  with  many 
principal  people  of  the  province.  Several  of  them 
had  been  appointed  by  the  Assembly  a  committee 
to   attend  the  press,   and  take   care  that  no   more 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 77 

bills  were  printed  than  the  law  directed.  They 
were  therefore,  by  turns,  constantly  with  us,  and 
generally  he  who  attended,  brought  with  him  a 
friend  or  two  for  company.  My  mind  having  been 
much  more  improv'd  by  reading  than  Keimer's,  I 
suppose  it  was  for  that  reason  my  conversation 
seem'd  to  be  more  valu'd.  They  had  me  to  their 
houses,  introduced  me  to  their  friends,  and  show'd 
me  much  civility ;  while  he,  tho'  the  master, 
was  a  little  neglected.  In  truth,  he  was  an  odd 
fish ;  ignorant  of  common  life,  fond  of  rudely  op- 
posing receiv'd  opinions,  slovenly  to  extream  dirti- 
ness, enthusiastic  in  some  points  of  religion,  and  a 
little  knavish  withal. 

We  continu'd  there  near  three  months ;  and  by 
that  time  I  could  reckon  among  my  acquired  friends, 
Judge  Allen,  Samuel  Bustill,  the  secretary  of  the 
Province,  Isaac  Pearson,  Joseph  Cooper,  and  several 
of  the  Smiths,  members  of  Assembly,  and  Isaac  De- 
cow,  the  surveyor-general.  The  latter  was  a  shrewd, 
sagacious  old  man,  who  told  me  that  he  began  for 
himself,  when  young,  by  wheeling  clay  for  the 
brickmakers,  learned  to  write  after  he  was  of  age, 
carri'd  the  chain  for  surveyors,  who  taught  him 
surveying,  and  he  had  now  by  his  industry,  acquir'd 
a  good  estate;  and  says  he,  "I  foresee  that  you 
will  soon  work  this  man  out  of  his  business,  and 
make  a  fortune  in  it  at  Philadelphia."  He  had  not 
then  the  least  intimation  of  my  intention  to  set  up 
there  or  anywhere.     These  friends  were  afterwards 


1 78  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  great  use  to  me,  as  I  occasionally  was  to  some  of 
them.  They  all  continued  their  regard  for  me  as 
long  as  they  lived. 

Before  I  enter  upon  my  public  appearance  in 
business,  it  may  be  well  to  let  you  know  the  then 
state  of  my  mind  with  regard  to  my  principles  and 
morals,  that  you  may  see  how  far  those  influenc'd 
the  future  events  of  my  life.  My  parents  had  early 
given  me  religious  impressions,  and  brought  me 
through  my  childhood  piously  in  the  Dissenting 
way.  But  I  was  scarce  fifteen,  when,  after  doubt- 
ing by  turns  of  several  points,  as  I  found  them  dis- 
puted in  the  different  books  I  read,  I  began  to  doubt 
of  Revelation  itself.  Some  books  against  Deism 
fell  into  my  hands ;  they  were  said  to  be  the  sub- 
stance of  sermons  preached  at  Bo}de's  Lectures. 
It  happened  that  they  wrought  an  effect  on  me 
quite  contrary  to  what  was  intended  by  them  ;  for 
the  arguments  of  the  Deists,  which  were  quoted  to 
be  refuted,  appeared  to  me  much  stronger  than  the 
refutations ;  in  short,  I  soon  became  a  thorough 
Deist.  My  arguments  perverted  some  others,  par- 
ticularly Collins  and  Ralph ;  but,  each  of  them 
having  afterwards  wrong'd  me  greatly  without  the 
least  compunction,  and  recollecting  Keith's  conduct 
towards  me  (who  was  another  freethinker) ,  and  my 
own  towards  Vernon  and  Miss  Read,  which  at 
times  gave  me  great  trouble,  I  began  to  suspect  that 
this  doctrine,  tho'  it  might  be  true,  was  not  very 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 79 

useful.  My  London  pamphlet,*  which  had  for  its 
motto  these  lines  of  Dryden  : 

"  Whatever  is,  is   right.     Though  purblind  man 
Sees  but  a  part  o'  the  chain,  the  nearest  link  : 
His  eyes  not  carrying  to  the  equal  beam, 
That  poises  all  above  ;" 

and  from  the  attributes  of  God,  his  infinite  wisdom, 
goodness  and  power,  concluded  that  nothing  could 
possibly  be  wrong  in  the  world,  and  that  vice  and 
virtue  were  empty  distinctions,  no  such  things  exist- 


*  Printed  in  1 725. 

Dr.  Franklin  in  a  part  of  a  letter  to  Mr.  B.  Vaughan,  dated  Nov.  9, 
1779,  gives  a  further  account  of  this  pamphlet,  in  these  words  : 

"  It  was  addressed  to  Mr.  J.  R,  that  is,  James  Ralph,  then  a  youth 
of  about  my  age,  and  my  intimate  friend ;  afterwards  a  political  writer 
and  historian.  The  purport  of  it  was  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  fate,  from 
the  supposed  attributes  of  God ;  in  some  such  manner  as  this  :  that  in 
erecting  and  governing  the  world,  as  he  was  infinitely  wise,  he  knew 
what  would  be  best ;  infinitely  good,  he  must  be  disposed,  and  infinitely 
powerful,  he  must  be  able  to  execute  it :  consequently  all  is  right 
There  were  only  an  hundred  copies  printed,  of  which  I  gave  a  few  to 
friends,  and  afterwards  disliking  the  piece,  as  conceiving  it  might  have 
an  ill  tendency,  I  burnt  the  rest,  except  one  copy,  the  margin  of  which 
was  filled  with  manuscript  notes  by  Syms,  author  of  the  Infallibility  of 
Human  Judgment,  who  was  at  that  time  another  of  my  acquaintance 
in  London.  I  was  not  nineteen  years  of  age  when  it  was  written.  In 
1730,  I  wrote  a  piece  on  the  other  side  of  the  question,  which  began 
with  laying  for  its  foundation  this  fact :  '  That  almost  all  men  in  all  ages 
and  countries,  have  at  times  made  use  of  prayer.'  Thence  I  reasoned, 
that  if  all  things  are  ordained,  prayer  must  among  the  rest  be  ordained. 
But  as  prayer  can  produce  no  change  in  things  that  are  ordained,  pray- 
ing must  then  be  useless  and  an  absurdity.  God  would  therefore  not 
ordain  praying  if  everything  else  was  ordained.  But  praying  exists 
therefore  all  things  are  not  ordained,  etc.  This  pamphlet  was^never 
printed,  and  the  manuscript  has  been  long  lost.  The  great  uncertainty 
I  found  in  metaphysical  reasonings  disgusted  me,  and  I  quitted  that 
kind  of  reading  and  study  for  others  more  satisfactory." — Ed. 


l8o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ing,  appear'd  now  not  so  clever  a  performance  as  I 
once  thought  it ;  and  I  doubted  whether  some  error 
had  not  insinuated  itself  unperceiv'd  into  my  argu- 
ment, so  as  to  infect  all  that  follow'd,  as  is  common 
in  metaphysical  reasonings. 

I  grew  convinc'd  that  truth,  sincerity  and  integ- 
rity in  dealings  between  man  and  man  were  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  felicity  of  life ;  and  I 
form'd  written  resolutions,  which  still  remain  in  my 
journal  book,  to  practice  them  ever  while  I  lived. 
Revelation  had  indeed  no  weight  with  me,  as  such  ; 
but  I  entertain'd  an  opinion  that,  though  certain 
actions  might  not  be  bad  because  they  were  for- 
bidden by  it,  or  good  because  it  commanded  them, 
yet  probably  those  actions  might  be  forbidden 
because  they  were  bad  for  us,  or  commanded 
because  they  were  beneficial  to  us,  in  their  own 
natures,  all  the  circumstances  of  things  considered. 
And  this  persuasion,  with  the  kind  hand  of  Provi- 
dence, or  some  guardian  angel,  or  accidental  favor- 
able circumstances  and  situations,  or  all  together, 
preserved  me,  thro'  this  dangerous  time  of  youth, 
and  the  hazardous  situations  I  was  sometimes  in 
among  strangers,  remote  from  the  eye  and  advice 
of  my  father,  without  any  willful  gross  immorality 
or  injustice,  that  might  have  been  expected  from  my 
want  of  religion.*     I   say  willful,  because  the  in- 

*  The  words,  "  Some  foolish  intrigues  with  low  women  excepted, 
which  from  the  expense  were  rather  more  prejudicial  to  me  than  to 
them,"  effaced  on  the  revision,  and  the  sentence  which  follows  in  the 
text  written  in  the  margin. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  l8l 

stances  I  have  mentioned  had  something  of  necessity 
in  them,  from  my  youth,  inexperience,  and  the 
knavery  of  others.  I  had  therefore  a  tolerable 
character  to  begin  the  world  with ;  I  valued  it 
properly,  and  determin'd  to  preserve  it. 

We  had  not  been  long  return'd  to  Philadelphia 
before  the  new  types  arriv'd  from  London.  We 
settled  with  Keimer,  and  left  him  by  his  consent 
before  he  heard  of  it.  We  found  a  house  to  hire 
near  the  market,  and  took  it.  To  lessen  the  rent, 
which  was  then  but  twenty-four  pounds  a  year, 
tho'  I  have  since  known  it  to  let  for  seventy,  we 
took  in  Thomas  Godfrey,  a  glazier,  and  his  family, 
who  were  to  pay  a  considerable  part  of  it  to  us,  and 
we  to  board  with  them.  We  had  scarce  opened  our 
letters-  and  put  our  press  in  order,  before  George 
House,  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  brought  a  country- 
man to  us,  whom  he  had  met  in  the  street  inquiring 
for  a  printer.  All  our  cash  was  now  expended  in 
the  variety  of  particulars  we  had  been  obliged  to 
procure,  and  this  countryman's  five  shillings,  being 
our  first-fruits,  and  coming  so  seasonably,  gave  me 
more  pleasure  than  any  crown  I  have  since  earned ; 
and  the  gratitude  I  felt  toward  House  has  made  me 
often  more  ready  than  perhaps  I  should  otherwise 
have  been  to  assist  young  beginners. 

There  are  croakers  in  every  country,  always  bod- 
ing its  ruin.  Such  a  one  then  lived  in  Philadelphia  ; 
a  person  of  note,  an  elderly  man,  with  a  wise  look 
and  a  very  grave  manner  of  speaking ;   his  name 

16 


1 82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

was  Samuel  Mickle.  This  gentleman,  a  stranger 
to  me,  stopt  one  day  at  my  door,  and  asked  me 
if  I  was  the  young  man  who  had  lately  opened  a 
new  printing-house.  Being  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative, he  said  he  was  sorry  for  me,  because  it  was 
an  expensive  undertaking,  and  the  expense  would 
be  lost ;  for  Philadelphia  was  a  sinking  place,  the 
people  already  half  bankrupts,  or  near  being  so ; 
all  appearances  to  the  contrary,  such  as  new 
buildings  and  the  rise  of  rents,  being  to  his  certain 
knowledge  fallacious  ;  for  they  were,  in  fact,  among 
the  things  that  would  soon  ruin  us.  And  he  gave 
me  such  a  detail  of  misfortunes  now  existing,  or 
that  were  soon  to  exist,  that  he  left  me  half  melan- 
choly. Had  I  known  him  before  I  engaged  in  this 
business,  probably  I  never  should  have  done  it. 
This  man  continued  to  live  in  this  decaying  place, 
and  to  declaim  in  the  same  strain,  refusing  for  many 
years  to  buy  a  house  there,  because  all  was  going 
to  destruction;  and  at  last  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  him  give  five  times  as  much  for  one  as  he 
might  have  bought  it  for  when  he  first  began  his 
croaking. 

I  should  have  mentioned  before,  that,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  the  preceding  year,  I  had  form'd  most  of  my 
ingenious  acquaintance  into  a  club  of  mutual  im- 
provement, which  we  called  the  Junto  ;  we  met  on 
Friday  evenings.  The  rules  that  I  drew  up  re- 
quired that  every  member,  in  his  turn,  should  pro- 
duce one  or  more  queries  on  any  point  of  Morals, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 83 

Politics,  or  Natural  Philosophy,  to  be  discuss'd  by 
the  company ;  and  once  in  three  months  produce 
and  read  an  essay  of  his  own  writing,  on  any  sub- 
ject he  pleased.  Our  debates  were  to  be  under  the 
direction  of  a  president,  and  to  be  conducted  in  the 
sincere  spirit  of  inquiry  after  truth,  without  fondness 
for  dispute,  or  desire  of  victory ;  and,  to  prevent 
warmth,  all  expressions  of  positiveness  in  opinions, 
or  direct  contradiction,  were  after  some  time  made 
contraband,  and  prohibited  under  small  pecuniary 
penalties. 

The  first  members  were  Joseph  Breintnal,  a  copyer 
of  deeds  for  the  scriveners,  a  good-natur'd,  friendly, 
middle-ag'd  man,  a  great  lover  of  poetry,  reading 
all  he  could  meet  with,  and  writing  some  that  was 
tolerable ;  very  ingenious  in  many  little  Nicknack- 
eries,  and  of  sensible  conversation. 

Thomas  Godfrey,  a  self-taught  mathematician, 
great  in  his  way,  and  afterward  inventor  of  what  is 
now  called  Hadley's  Quadrant.  But  he  knew 
little  out  of  his  way,  and  was  not  a  pleasing  com- 
panion ;  as,  like  most  great  mathematicians  I  have 
met  with,  he  expected  universal  precision  in  every 
thing  said,  or  was  for  ever  denying  or  distinguish- 
ing upon  trifles,  to  the  disturbance  of  all  conversa- 
tion.    He  soon  left  us. 

Nicholas  Scull,  a  surveyor,  afterward  surveyor- 
general,  who  lov'd  books,  and  sometimes  made  a 
few  verses. 


1 84  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

William  Parsons,  bred  a  shoemaker,  but,  loving 
reading,  had  acquir'd  a  considerable  share  of  mathe- 
matics, which  he  first  studied  with  a  view  to  astrolo- 
gy, that  he  afterwards  laught  at  it.  He  also  became 
surveyor-general. 

William  Maugridge,  a  joiner,  a  most  exquisite 
mechanic,  and  a  solid,  sensible  man. 

Hugh  Meredith,  Stephen  Potts,  and  George  Webb 
I  have  characterize  before. 

Robert  Grace,  a  young  gentleman  of  some  fortune, 
generous,  lively,  and  witty;  a  lover  of  punning  and 
of  his  friends. 

And  William  Coleman,  then  a  merchant's  clerk, 
about  my  age,  who  had  the  coolest,  clearest  head, 
the  best  heart,  and  the  exactest  morals  of  almost  any 
man  I  ever  met  with.  He  became  afterwards  a 
merchant  of  great  note,  and  one  of  our  provincial 
judges.  Our  friendship  continued  without  interrup- 
tion to  his  death,  upward  of  forty  years ;  and  the 
club  continued  almost  as  long,  and  was  the  best 
school  of  philosophy,  morality,  and  politics  that 
then  existed  in  the  province ;  for  our  queries,  which 
were  read  the  week  preceding  their  discussion,  put 
us  upon  reading  with  attention  upon  the  several  sub- 
jects, that  we  might  speak  more  to  the  purpose  : 
and  here,  too,  we  acquired  better  habits  of  conver- 
sation, every  thing  being  studied  in  our  rules  which 
might  prevent  our  disgusting  each  other.  From 
hence  the  long  continuance  of  the  club,  which  I 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 85 

shall   have   frequent   occasion  to  speak  further  of 
hereafter.* 


*  In  a  careful  and  interesting  paper  read  before  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society  by  Dr.  Patterson,  one  of  its  Vice-Presidents,  on  the 
25th  of  May,  1843,  m  commemoration  of  its  Centennial  Anniversary, 
will  be  found  much  new  and  important  information  about  the  Junto. 
As  this  paper  is  not  generally  accessible,  my  readers  will  excuse  me  for 
quoting  somewhat  freely  from  its  pages.     Dr.  Patterson  says  : 

"  The  Junto  was,  properly  speaking,  a  debating  society.  At  first  it 
met  at  a  tavern ;  but  subsequently  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  members, 
Robert  Grace,  whom  Franklin  characterizes  as  '  a  gentleman  of  some 
fortune,  generous,  lively,  and  witty,  a  lover  of  punning  and  of  his 
friends.'  I  am  happy  to  say  that  Robert  Grace  is  not  without  his  suc- 
cessors in  our  present  society. 

"  One  of  the  rules  of  the  Club  was  that  the  institution  should  be  kept 
a  secret ;  the  intention  being,  as  Franklin  states,  to  avoid  applications 
of  improper  persons  for  admittance.  The  number  of  members  at  any 
one  time  was  limited  to  twelve,  but  vacancies  were  filled  as  they  oc- 
curred, and  the  names  of  twenty-three  members  are  preserved. 

"  On  admission  into  the  Club,  a  course  was  followed  which  is  too  re- 
markable in  itself,  and  in  its  bearing  upon  a  difficult  question  in  the 
history  of  this  Society,  not  to  be  here  introduced.  It  is  thus  presented 
in  Franklin's  papers : 

" '  Any  person  to  be  qualified — to  stand  up,  and  lay  his  hand  upon  his 
breast,  and  be  asked  these  questions,  viz. : 

" '  1st  Have  you  any  particular  disrespect  to  any  present  member  ? 
Answer  :  I  have  not. 

"  '2d.  Do  you  sincerely  declare  that  you  love  mankind  in  general,  of 
what  profession  or  religion  soever  ?     Ans.  I  do. 

" '  3d.  Do  you  think  any  person  ought  to  be  harmed  in  his  body, 
name,  or  goods,  for  mere  speculative  opinions,  or  his  external  way  of 
worship  ?     Ans.  No. 

"  '4th.  Do  you  love  truth  for  truth's  sake,  and  will  you  endeavor  im- 
partially to  find  and  receive  it  yourself,  and  communicate  it  to  others  ? 
Ans.  Yes.' 

"  No  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  original  Junto  are  preserved, 
but  Franklin  mentions  in  his  Autobiography  several  questions  of  great 
interest  which  were  discussed  at  it,  and  several  pieces  read  before  it 
and  afterwards  published  in  his  newspaper. 
16* 


1 86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

But  my  giving  this  account  of  it  here  is  to  show 
something  of  the  interest  I  had,  every  one  of  these 


"  It  was  at  one  time  proposed  to  increase  the  number  of  members  ; 
but  to  this  Franklin  was  opposed,  and  instead  of  it  he  made  '  a  proposal 
that  every  member  separately  should  form  a  subordinate  club,  with  the 
same  rules  respecting  queries,  etc.,  and  without  informing  them  of  the 
connection  with  the  Junto.'  '  This  project  was  approved,  and  every  mem- 
ber undertook  to  form  a  club  ;  but  they  did  not  all  succeed.  Five  or  six 
only  were  completed,  which  were  called  by  different  names,  as  the  Vine, 
the  Union,  the  Band.'  Of  these  subordinate  companies,  a  brief  para- 
graph in  Franklin's  Life  is  the  only  remaining  record. 

"  While  Franklin  was  abroad,  he  shows  by  his  correspondence  that 
he  still  held  the  institution  of  his  youth  in  affectionate  remembrance. 
This  appears  repeatedly  in  his  letters  to  his  friend  Hugh  Roberts.  He 
calls  it  'the  good  old  Club,'  'the  ancient  Junto.'  So  late  as  1765,  he 
says :  '  I  wish  you  would  continue  to  meet  the  Junto,  notwithstanding 
that  some  effects  of  our  political  misunderstanding  may  sometimes  ap- 
pear there.  It  is  now  perhaps  one  of  the  oldest  clubs,  as  I  think  it  was 
formerly  one  of  the  best,  in  the  king's  dominions.'  Even  in  1766,  he 
writes  :  '  Remember  me  affectionately  to  the  Junto.' 

"  It  appears,  then,  that  the  Junto  continued  in  existence  about  forty 
years.  But  did  it  keep  up  its  original  character  ?  This  may  well  be 
doubted.  The  members  grew  gradually  to  be  old  men,  and  it  is  hardly 
to  be  supposed  that  they  would  submit  to  the  task  of  writing  essays,  or 
would  formally  propose  questions,  and  afterwards  debate  them.  Their  for- 
tunes were  made,  their  education  completed ;  and  it  is  therefore  much  more 
probable  that  when  the  remnant  of  the  once  youthful  and  active  Junto  met 
together,  they  indulged  themselves  in  social  conversation  and  temperate 
conviviality.  Such  is  said  to  be  the  tradition  in  the  Roberts  family ;  and 
it  is  confirmed  by  a  letter  from  Dr."  Franklin  to  their  ancestor,  written 
in  1761,  in  which  he  says:  'You  tell  me  you  sometimes  visit  the  an- 
cient Junto.  I  wish  you  would  do  it  oftener.  Since  we  have  held  that  Club 
till  we  are  grown  gray  together,  let  us  hold  it  out  to  the  end.  For  my 
own  part,  I  find  I  love  company,  chat,  a  laugh,  a  glass,  and  even  a  song, 
as  well  as  ever ;  and  at  the  same  time  relish  better  than  I  used  to  do  the 
grave  observations  and  wise  sentences  of  old  men's  conversation ;  so 
that  I  am  sure  the  Junto  will  be  still  as  agreeable  to  me  as  it  ever  has 
been.  I  therefore  hope  it  will  not  be  discontinued,  as  long  as  we  are 
able  to  crawl  together.' " 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 87 

exerting  themselves  in  recommending  business  to  us. 
Breintnal  particularly  procur'd  us  from  the  Quakers 


In  May,  1765,  Hugh  Roberts  writes  as  follows  to  Dr.  Franklin:  "I 
sometimes  visit  the  worthy  remains  of  the  ancient  Junto,  for  whom  I 
have  a  high  esteem;  but  alas,  the  political,  polemical  divisions  have  in 
some  measure  contributed  to  lessen  that  harmony  we  there  formerly 
enjoyed."  To  this  letter  Franklin  answers  in  July  following,  urging 
his  friend's  attendance  at  the  Junto,  almost  in  the  same  terms  used  some 
years  before,  and  which  we  have  just  quoted,  and  then  closes  his  ex- 
hortation in  the  following  touching  words :  "  We  loved  and  still  love 
one  another.  We  are  grown  gray  together,  and  yet  it  is  too  early  tc 
part  Let  us  sit  till  the  evening  of  life  is  spent.  The  last  hours  are 
always  the  most  joyous.  When  we  can  stay  no  longer,  it  is  time  enough 
then  to  bid  each  other  good-night,  separate  and  go  quietly  to  bed." 

The  following  rules  for  the  regulation  of  the  Junto,  drawn  up  in  1728, 
will  give  a  clearer  idea  of  its  character,  and,  I  may  add,  of  the  character 
of  its  members.  Forty  years  later  the  Junto  became  the  nucleus  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  of  which  Franklin  was  the  first  Pre- 
sident :* 

Have  you  read  over  these  queries  this  morning,  in  order  to  consider 
what  you  might  have  to  offer  the  Junto  touching  any  one  of  them  ?  viz. : 

1.  Have  you  met  with  anything  in  the  author  you  last  read,  remark- 
able or  suitable  to  be  communicated  to  the  Junto,  particularly  in  his- 
tory, morality,  poetry,  physic,  travels,  mechanic  arts,  or  other  parts  of 
knowledge  ? 

2.  What  new  story  have  you  lately  heard,  agreeable  for  telling  in 
conversation  ? 

3.  Hath  any  citizen  in  your  knowledge  failed  in  his  business  lately, 
and  what  have  you  heard  of  the  cause  ? 

4.  Have  you  lately  heard  of  any  citizen's  thriving  well,  and  by  what 
means  ? 

5.  Have  you  lately  heard  how  any  present  rich  man,  here  or  else- 
where, got  his  estate  ? 

6.  Do  you  know  of  a  fellow-citizen,  who  has  lately  done  a  worthy 
action,  deserving  praise  and  imitation  ;  or  who  has  lately  committed  an 
error,  proper  for  us  to  be  warned  against  and  avoid  ? 

*  Sparks'  Works  of  Franklin,  vol.  ii.  p.  9. 


1 88  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  printing  forty  sheets  of  their  history,   the   rest 
being  to  be  done  by  Keimer;   and  upon  this  we 


7.  What  unhappy  effects  of  intemperance  have  you  lately  observed 
or  heard ;  of  imprudence,  of  passion,  or  of  any  other  vice  or  folly  ? 

8.  What  happy  effects  of  temperance,  of  prudence,  of  moderation,  or 
of  any  other  virtue  ? 

9.  Have  you  or  any  of  your  acquaintance  been  lately  sick  or 
wounded?  If  so,  what  remedies  were  used,  and  what  were  their 
effects  ? 

10.  Whom  do  you  know  that  are  shortly  going  voyages  or  journeys, 
if  one  should  have  occasion  to  send  by  them  ? 

11.  Do  you  think  of  any  thing  at  present  in  which  the  Junto  may  be 
serviceable  to  mankind,  to  their  country,  to  their  friends,  or  to  them- 
selves ? 

12.  Hath  any  deserving  stranger  arrived  in  town  since  last  meeting, 
that  you  have  heard  of?  And  what  have  you  heard  or  observed  of  his 
character  or  merits  ?  And  whether,  think  you,  it  lies  in  the  power  of 
the  Junto  to  oblige  him,  or  encourage  him  as  he  deserves  ? 

13.  Do  you  know  of  any  deserving  young  beginner  lately  set  up,  whom 
it  lies  in  the  power  of  the  Junto  any  way  to  encourage  ? 

14.  Have  you  lately  observed  any  defect  in  the  laws  of  your  country, 
of  which  it  would  be  proper  to  move  the  legislature  for  an  amendment  ? 
Or  do  you  know  of  any  beneficial  law  that  is  wanting  ? 

15.  Have  you  lately  observed  any  encroachment  on  the  just  liberties 
of  the  people  ? 

16.  Hath  anybody  attacked  your  reputation  lately?  And  what  can 
the  Junto  do  towards  securing  it  ? 

17.  Is  there  any  man  whose  friendship  you  want,  and  which  the  Junto, 
or  any  of  them,  can  procure  for  you  ? 

18.  Have  you  lately  heard  any  member's  character  attacked,  and  how 
have  you  defended  it  ? 

19.  Hath  any  man  injured  you  from  whom  it  is  in  the  power  of  the 
Junto  to  procure  redress? 

20.  In  what  manner  can  the  Junto,  or  any  of  them,  assist  you  in  any 
of  your  honorable  designs? 

21.  Have  you  any  weighty  affair  on  hand,  in  which  you  think  the  ad- 
vlct  of  the  Junto  may  be  of  service  ? 

22.  What  benefits  have  you  lately  received  from  any  man  not  pre 
sent? 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 89 

work'd  exceedingly  hard,  for  the  price  was  low.  It 
was  a  folio,  pro  patria  size,  in  pica,  with  long  primer 
notes.  I  compos'd  of  it  a  sheet  a  day,  and  Mere- 
dith worked  it  off  at  press ;  it  was  often  eleven  at 
night,  and  sometimes  later,  before  I  had  finished  my 
distribution  for  the  next  day's  work,  for  the  little 


23.  Is  there  any  difficulty  in  matters  of  opinion,  of  justice,  and  injus- 
tice, which  you  would  gladly  have  discussed  at  this  time  ? 

24.  Do  you  see  any  thing  amiss  in  the  present  customs  or  proceedings 
of  the  Junto  which  might  be  amended  ? 

When  the  Philosophical  Society  was  instituted,  a  book  containing 
some  of  the  questions  discussed  by  the  Junto  was  put  into  the  hands  of 
Dr.  William  Smith,  who  selected  from  it,  and  published  in  his  "  Eulo- 
gium  on  Franklin"  the  following  specimens  : 

"  Is  sound  an  entity  or  body  ? 

"  How  may  the  phenomena  of  vapors  be  explained  ? 

"  Is  self-interest  the  rudder  that  steers  mankind,  the  universal  mon- 
arch to  whom  all  are  tributaries  ? 

"  Which  is  the  best  form  of  government,  and  what  was  that  form 
which  first  prevailed  among  mankind  ? 

"  Can  any  one  particular  form  of  government  suit  all  mankind  ? 

"  What  is  the  reason  that  the  tides  rise  higher  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
than  the  Bay  of  Delaware  ? 

"  Is  the  emission  of  paper  money  safe  ? 

"  What  is  the  reason  that  men  of  the  greatest  knowledge  are  not  the 
most  happy? 

"  How  may  the  possessions  of  the  Lakes  be  improved  to  our  ad- 
vantage ? 

"  Why  are  tumultuous,  uneasy  sensations  united  with  our  desires  ? 

"Whether  it  ought  to  be  the  aim  of  philosophy  to  eradicate  the 
passions  ? 

"  How  may  smoky  chimneys  be  best  cured  ? 

"  Why  does  the  flame  of  a  candle  tend  upwards  in  a  spire  ? 

*'  Which  is  least  criminal — a  bad  action  joined  with  a  good  intention, 
or  a  good  action  with  a  bad  intention  ? 

"  Is  it  consistent  with  the  principles  of  liberty  in  a  free  government 
to  punish  a  man  as  a  libeller  when  he  speaks  the  truth  ?" — Ed. 


190  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

jobbs  sent  in  by  our  other  friends  now  and  then  put 
us  back.  But  so  determin'd  I  was  to  continue  doing 
a  sheet  a  day  of  the  folio,  that  one  night,  when, 
having  impos'd  my  forms,  I  thought  my  day's  work 
over,  one  of  them  by  accident  was  broken,  and  two 
pages  reduced  to  pi,  I  immediately  distributed  and 
compos'd  it  over  again  before  I  went  to  bed ;  and 
this  industry,  visible  to  our  neighbors,  began  to  give 
us  character  and  credit;  particularly,  I  was  told, 
that  mention  being  made  of  the  new  printing-office 
at  the  merchants'  Every-night  club,  the  general 
opinion  was  that  it  must  fail,  there  being  already 
two  printers  in  the  place,  Keimer  and  Bradford ;  but 
Dr.  Baird  (whom  you  and  I  saw  many  years  after 
at  his  native  place,  St.  Andrew's  in  Scotland)  gave 
a  contrary  opinion :  * '  For  the  industry  of  that 
Franklin,"  says  he,  "  is  superior  to  anything  I  ever 
saw  of  the  kind ;  I  see  him  still  at  work  when  I  go 
home  from  club,  and  he  is  at  work  again  before 
his  neighbors  are  out  of  bed."  This  struck  the  rest, 
and  we  soon  after  had  offers  from  one  of  them  to 
supply  us  with  stationery ;  but  as  yet  we  did  not 
chuse  to  engage  in  shop  business. 

I  mention  this  industry  the  more  particularly  and 
the  more  freely,  tho'  it  seems  to  be  talking  in  my 
own  praise,  that  those  of  my  posterity,  who  shall 
read  it,  may  know  the  use  of  that  virtue,  when  they 
see  its  effects  in  my  favour  throughout  this  relation. 

George  Webb,  who  had  found  a  female  friend 
that  lent  him  wherewith  to  purchase  his  time  of 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 9 1 

Keimer,  now  came  to  offer  himself  as  a  journeyman 
to  us.  We  could  not  then  imploy  him ;  but  I  fool- 
ishly let  him  know  as  a  secret  that  I  soon  intended 
to  begin  a  newspaper,  and  might  then  have  work 
for  him.  My  hopes  of  success,  as  I  told  him,  were 
founded  on  this,  that  the  then  only  newspaper, 
printed  by  Bradford,  was  a  paltry  thing,  wretchedly 
manag'd,  no  way  entertaining,  and  yet  was  profit- 
able to  him  ;  I  therefore  thought  a  good  paper  would 
scarcely  fail  of  good  encouragement.  I  requested 
Webb  not  to  mention  it ;  but  he  told  it  to  Keimer, 
who  immediately,  to  be  beforehand  with  me,  pub- 
lished proposals  for  printing  one  himself,  on  which 
Webb  was  to  be  employ'd.  I  resented  this;  and, 
to  counteract  them,  as  I  could  not  yet  begin  our 
paper,  I  wrote  several  pieces  of  entertainment  for 
Bradford's  paper,  under  the  title  of  the  Busy  Body, 
which  Breintnal  continu'd  some  months.  By  this 
means  the  attention  of  the  publick  was  fixed  on  that 
paper,  and  Keimer's  proposals,  which  we  burlesqu'd 
and  ridicul'd,  were  disregarded.  He  began  his 
paper,  however,  and,  after  carrying  it  on  three 
quarters  of  a  year,  with  at  most  only  ninety  sub 
scribers,  he  offer'd  it  to  me  for  a  trifle ;  and  I,  hav- 
ing been  ready  some  time  to  go  on  with  it,  took  it  ir 
hand  directly  ;  and  it  prov'd  in  a  few  years  ex 
tremely  profitable  to  me.* 


*  This  paper  was  called    The   Universal  Instrtictor  in  all  Arts  an* 
Sciences  and  Pennsylvania  Gazette.     Keimer  printed  his  last  number,  th« 


39th,  on  the  25th  day  of  September,  1729. 


192  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  perceive  that  I  am  apt  to  speak  in  the  singular 
number,  though  our  partnership  still  continu'd ;  the 
reason  may  be  that,  in  fact,  the  whole  management 


Its  leading  articles  were  an  installment  of  Chambers'  Dictionary,  Art. 
Air>  a  message  from  Gov.  Burnet  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
the  reply  of  the  Assembly,  and  an  obituary  of  the  governor,  who  had 
just  died.     The  following  announcement  filled  the  rest  of  the  sheet : 

"  Philadelphia,  September  25 
"  It  not  quadrating  with  the  circumstances  of  the  printer  hereof,  S.  K., 
to  publish  this  Gazette  any  longer,  he  gives  notice  that  this  paper  con- 
cludes his  third  quarter ;  and  is  the  last  that  will  be  printed  by  him. 
Yet,  that  his  generous  subscribers  may  not  be  baulked  or  disappointed, 
he  has  agreed  with  B.  Franklin  and  H.  Meredith,  at  the  new  printing 
office,  to  continue  it  to  the  end  of  the  year,  having  transferred  the  prop- 
erty wholly  to  them  [D.  Harry  declining  it],*  and  probably  if  further 
encouragement  appears  it  will  be  continued  longer.  The  said  S.  K. 
designs  to  leave  this  province  early  in  the  spring  or  sooner,  if  possibly 
he  can  justly  accommodate  his  affairs  with  every  one  he  stands  in- 
debted to." 

The  next  number,  40,  appeared  on  the  2d  of  October,  in  new  type,  with 
the  following  announcement,  the  title  "  Universal  Instructor  in  all  Arts 
and  Sciences'''  having  been  dropped,  and  with  it  the  feature  of  the  paper 
which  it  designated  : 

"  The  Pennsylvania  Gazette  being  now  to  be  carryed  on  by  other  hands, 
the  reader  may  expect  some  account  of  the  method  we  design  to  pro- 
ceed in. 

"  Upon  a  view  of  Chambers'  great  dictionaries,  from  whence  were  taken 
the  materials  of  The  Universal  Instructor  in  all  Arts  and  Sciences,  which 
usuall)  made  the  first  part  of  this  paper,  we  find  that  besides  their  con- 
taining many  things  abstruse  or  insignificant  to  us,  it  will  probably  be 
fifty  years  before  the  whole  can  be  gone  through  in  this  manner  of  pub- 
lication. There  are  likewise  in  those  books  continual  references  from 
things  under  one  letter  of  the  alphabet  to  those  under  another,  which 
relate  to  the  same  subject  and  are  necessary  to  explain  and  complete  it ; 

*  In  the  previous  number  Keimer  announced  that  he  had  made  over  his  business  to 
David  Harry,  with  the  design  to  leave  this  province  as  soon  as  he  could  get  in  his  debts 
•»nd  justly  balance  with  every  one  of  his  few  creditors,  etc.,  etc. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 93 

of  the  business    lay  upon  me.      Meredith  was  no 
compositor,   a  poor   pressman,   and    seldom    sober. 


these  taken  in  their  turn  may  be  ten  years  distant  ;  and  since  it  is  likely 
that  they  who  desire  to  acquaint  themselves  with  any  particular  art  or 
science  would  gladly  have  the  whole  before  them  in  a  much  less  time, 
we  believe  our  readers  will  not  think  such  a  method  of  communicating 
knowledge  to  be  a  proper  one. 

"  However,  though  we  do  not  intend  to  continue  the  publication  of 
those  dictionaries  in  a  regular  alphabetical  method,  as  has  hitherto 
been  done  ;  yet,  as  several  things  exhibited  from  them  in  the  course  of 
these  papers,  have  been  entertaining  to  such  of  the  curious  who  never 
had  and  cannot  have  the  advantage  of  good  libraries  ;  and  as  there  are 
many  things  still  behind,  which  being  in  this  manner  made  generally 
known,  may  perhaps  become  of  considerable  use  by  giving  such  hints 
to  the  excellent  natural  genius's  of  our  country,  as  may  contribute  either 
to  the  improvement  of  our  present  manufactures  or  towards  the  inven- 
tion of  new  ones ;  we  propose  from  time  to  time  to  communicate  such 
particular  parts  as  appear  to  be  of  the  most  general  consequence. 

"As  to  the  Religious  Courtship,  part  of  which  has  been  retal'd  to  the 
public  in  these  papers,  the  reader  may  be  informed,  that  the  whole  book 
will  probably  in  a  little  time  be  printed  and  bound  by  itself;  and  those 
who  approve  of  it  will  doubtless  be  better  pleased  to  have  it  entire,  than 
in  this  broken,  interrupted  manner. 

"  There  are  many  who  have  long  desired  to  see  a  good  newspaper  in 
Pennsylvania ;  and  we  hope  those  gentlemen  who  are  able,  will  contri- 
bute towards  the  making  this  such.  We  ask  assistance  because  we  are 
fully  sensible,  that  to  publish  a  good  newspaper  is  not  so  easy  an  under- 
taking as  many  people  imagine  it  to  be.  The  author  of  a  Gazette  (in  the 
opinion  of  the  learned)  ought  to  be  qualified  with  an  extensive  acquaint- 
ance with  languages,  a  great  easiness  and  command  of  writing,  and 
relating  things  clearly  and  intelligibly  and  in  few  words  ;  he  should  be 
able  to  speak  of  war  both  by  land  and  sea ;  be  well  acquainted  with 
geography,  with  the  history  of  the  time,  with  the  secret  interests  of 
princes  and  States,  the  secrets  of  courts,  and  the  manners  and  customs 
of  all  nations.  Men  thus  accomplished  are  very  rare  in  this  remote  part 
of  the  world ;  and  it  would  be  well  if  the  writer  of  these  papers  could 
make  up  among  his  friends  what  is  wanting  in  himself. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  we  may  assure  the  publick,  that,  as  far  as  the  en- 
couragement we  meet  with  will  enable  us,  no  care  and  pains  shall  be 
17  1 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHT  OF 

My  friends  lamented  my  connection  with  him,  but  1 
was  to  make  the  best  of  it. 

Our  first  papers  made  a  quite  different  appearance 
from  any  before  in  the  province ;  a  better  type,  and 
better  printed ;  but  some  spirited  remarks  of  m} 
writing,*    on   the  dispute   then  going  on  between 


omitted  that  may  make  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  zs,  agreeable  and  useful 
an  entertainment  as  the  nature  of  the  thing  will  allow." 

After  the  publication  of  two  numbers  the  Gazette  was  published  twice 
a  week,  beginning  with  No.  43. — Ed. 

*  The  following  are  the  spirited  remarks  here  referred  to  : 
"  His  excellency,  governor  Burnet,  died  unexpectedly  about  two  days 
after  the  date  of  this  reply  to  his  last  message  ;  and  it  was  thought  the 
dispute  would  have  ended  with  him,  or  at  least  have  lain  dormant  till 
the  arrival  of  a  new  governor  from  England,  who  possibly  might  or 
might  not  be  inclined  to  enter  too  vigorously  into  the  measures  of  his 
predecessor.  But  our  last  advices  by  the  post  acquaint  us  that  his 
honor  the  lieutenant-governor  (on  whom  the  government  immediately 
devolves  upon  the  death  or  absence  of  the  commander-in-chief)  has 
vigorously  renewed  the  struggle  on  his  own  account,  of  which  the  par- 
ticulars will  be  seen  in  our  next.  Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  may 
not  fully  understand  the  original  ground  of  this  warm  contest  between 
the  governor  and  assembly.  It  seems  that  people  have  for  these  hun- 
dred years  past,  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  rewarding  the  governor  for  the 
time  being,  according  to  their  sense  of  his  merit  and  services  ;  and  few 
or  none  of  their  governors  have  complained,  or  had  cause  to  complain, 
of  a  scanty  allowance.  When  the  late  governor  Burnet  brought  with 
him  instructions  to  demand  a  settled  salary  of  1000  pounds  sterling  per 
annum,  on  him  and  all  his  successors,  and  the  Assembly  were  required 
to  fix  it  immediately ;  he  insisted  on  it  strenuously  to  the  last,  and  they 
as  constantly  refused  it.  It  appears  by  their  votes  and  proceedings  that 
they  thought  it  an  imposition,  contrary  to  their  own  charter,  and  to 
Magna  Charta  ;  and  they  judged  that  there  should  be  a  mutual  depend- 
ence between  the  governor  and  governed ;  and  that  to  make  the  gov- 
ernor independent  would  be  dangerous  and  destructive  to  their  liber- 
ties, and  the  ready  way  to  establish  tyranny.  They  thought  likewise, 
that  the  province  was  not  the  less  dependent  on  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain,  by  the  governor's  depending  immediately  on  them,  and  his  owp 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 95 

Governor  Burnet  and  the  Massachusetts  Assembly, 
struck  the  principal  people,  occasioned  the  paper 
and  the  manager  of  it  to  be  much  talk'd  of,  and 
in  a  few  weeks  brought  them  all  to  be  our  sub- 
scribers. 

Their  example  was  follow'd  by  many,  and  our 
number  went  on  growing  continually.  This  was 
one  of  the  first  good  effects  of  my  having  learnt  a 
little  to  scribble  ;  another  was,  that  the  leading  men, 
seeing  a  newspaper  now  in  the  hands  of  one  who 


good  conduct,  for  an  ample  support ;  because  all  acts  and  laws,  which 
he  might  be  induced  to  pass,  must  nevertheless  be  constantly  sent  home 
for  approbation,  in  order  to  continue  in  force.  Many  other  reasons  were 
given,  and  arguments  used  in  the  course  of  the  controversy,  needless  to 
particularize  here,  because  all  the  material  papers  relating  to  it  have 
been  already  given  in  our  public  news. 

"  Much  deserved  praise  has  the  deceased  governor  received  for  his 
steady  integrity  in  adhering  to  his  instructions,  notwithstanding  the 
great  difficulty  and  opposition  he  met  with,  and  the  strong  temptations 
offered  from  time  to  time  to  induce  him  to  give  up  the  point  And  yet, 
perhaps,  something  is  due  to  the  Assembly  (as  the  love  and  zeal  of  that 
country  for  the  present  establishment  is  too  well  known  to  suffer  any 
suspicion  of  want  of  loyalty),  who  continue  thus  resolutely  to  abide  by 
what  they  think  their  right,  and  that  of  the  people  they  represent ; 
manage  all  the  arts  and  menaces  of  a  governor,  famed  for  his  cunning 
and  politics,  backed  with  instructions  from  home,  and  powerfully  aided 
by  the  great  advantage  such  an  officer  always  has  of  engaging  the  prin- 
cipal men  of  a  place  in  his  party,  by  conferring,  when  he  pleases,  so 
many  posts  of  piofit  and  honor.  Their  happy  mother  country  will  per- 
haps observe,  with  pleasure,  that  though  her  gallant  cocks  and  match- 
less dogs  abate  their  natural  fire  and  intrepidity  when  transported  to  a 
foreign  clime  (as  this  nation  is),  yet  her  sons  in  the  remotest  part  of  the 
earth,  and  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  descent,  still  retain  that  ardent 
spirit  of  liberty,  and  that  undaunted  courage,  which  has  in  every  age  so 
gloriously  distinguished  Britons  and  Englishmen  from  the  rest  of 
mankind."— W.  T.  F. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

aid  also  handle  a  pen,  thought  it  convenient  to 
jlige  and  encourage  me.  Bradford  still  printed 
the  votes,  and  laws,  and  other  publick  business. 
He  had  printe'd  an  address  of  the  House  to  the 
governor,  in  a  coarse,  blundering  manner ;  we  re- 
printed it  elegantly  and  correctly,  and  sent  one  1o 
every  member.  They  were  sensible  of  the  differ- 
ence :  it  strengthened  the  hands  of  our  friends  in 
the  House,  and  they  voted  us  their  printers  for  the 
year  ensuing. 

Among  my  friends  in  the  House  I  must  not  forget 
Mr.  Hamilton,  before  mentioned,  who  was  then 
returned  from  England,  and  had  a  seat  in  it.  He 
interested  himself  for  me  strongly  in  that  instance, 
as  he  did  in  many  others  afterward,  continuing  his 
patronage  till  his  death.* 

Mr.  Vernon,  about  this  time,  put  me  in  mind  of 
the  debt  I  ow'd  him,  but  did  not  press  me.  I  wrote 
him  an  ingenuous  letter  of  acknowledgment,  crav'd 
his  forbearance  a  little  longer,  which  he  allow'd  me, 
and  as  soon  as  I  was  able,  I  paid  the  principal  with 
interest,  and  many  thanks ;  so  that  erratum  was  in 
some  degree  corrected. 

But  now  another  difficulty  came  upon  me  which 
I  had  never  the  least  reason  to  expect.  Mr.  Mere- 
dith's father,  who  was  to  have  paid  for  our  printing- 
house,  according  to  the  expectations  given  me,  was 
able  to  advance  only  one  hundred  pounds  currency, 


*  I  got  his  son  once  ^500  [marg.  note]. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 97 

which  had  been  paid ;  and  a  hundred  more  was 
due  to  the  merchant,  who  grew  impatient,  and  su'd 
us  all.  We  gave  bail,  but  saw  that,  if  the  money 
could  not  be  rais'd  in  time,  the  suit  must  soon  come 
to  a  judgment  and  execution,  and  our  hopeful  pros- 
pects must,  with  us,  be  ruined,  as  the  press  and 
letters  must  be  sold  for  payment,  perhaps  at  half 
price. 

In  this  distress  two  true  friends,  whose  kindness  I 
have  never  forgotten,  nor  ever  shall  forget  while  I 
can  remember  any  thing,  came  to  me  separately, 
unknown  to  each  other,  and,  without  any  applica- 
tion from  ine,  offering  each  of  them  to  advance  me 
all  the  money  that  should  be  necessary  to  enable 
me  to  take  the  whole  business  upon  myself,  if  that 
should  be  practicable ;  but  they  did  not  like  my 
continuing  the  partnership  with  Meredith,  who,  as 
they  said,  was  often  seen  drunk  in  the  streets,  and 
playing  at  low  games  in  alehouses,  much  to  our 
discredit.  These  two  friends  were  William  Cole- 
man and  Robert  Grace.  I  told  them  I  could  not 
propose  a  separation  while  any  prospect  remain'd 
of  the  Merediths'  fulfilling  their  part  of  our  agree  • 
ment,  because  I  thought  myself  under  great  obliga 
tions  to  them  for  what  they  had  done,  and  would  do 
if  they  could ;  but,  if  they  finally  fail'd  in  their  per- 
formance, and  our  partnership  must  be  dissolv'd,  ] 
should  then  think  myself  at  liberty  to  accept  the 
assistance  of  my  friends. 

Thus  the  matter  rested  for  some  time,  when  I  said 
n* 


I98  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

to  my  partner,  "  Perhaps  your  father  is  dissatisfied 
at  the  part  you  have  undertaken  in  this  affair  of 
ours,  and  is  unwilling  to  advance  for  you  and  me 
what  he  would  for  you  alone.  If  that  is  the  case, 
tell  me,  and  I  will  resign  the  whole  to  you,  and  go 
about  my  business."  "No,"  said  he,  "my  father 
has  really  been  disappointed,  and  is  really  unable  ; 
and  I  am  unwilling  to  distress  him  farther.  I  sec 
this  is  a  business  I  am  not  fit  for.  I  was  bred  a 
farmer,  and  it  was  a  folly  in  me  to  come  to  town,  and 
put  myself,  at  thirty  years  of  age,  an  apprentice  to 
learn  a  new  trade.  Many  of  our  Welsh  people  are 
going  to  settle  in  North  Carolina,  where  land  is 
cheap.  I  am  inclin'd  to  go  with  them,  and  follow 
my  old  employment.  You  may  find  friends  to 
assist  you.  If  you  will  take  the  debts  of  the  com- 
pany upon  you  ;  return  to  my  father  the  hundred 
pound  he  has  advanced  ;  pay  my  little  personal  debts, 
and  give  me  thirty  pounds  and  a  new  saddle,  I  will 
relinquish  the  partnership,  and  leave  the  whole  in 
your  hands."  I  agreed  to  this  proposal ;  it  was 
drawn  up  in  writing,  sign'd,  and  seal'd  immediately. 
I  gave  him  what  he  demanded,  and  he  went  soon 
after  to  Carolina,  from  whence  he  sent  me  next 
year  two  long  letters,  containing  the  best  account 
that  had  been  given  of  that  country,  the  climate,  the 
soil,  husbandry,  etc.,  for  in  those  matters  he  was 
very  judicious.  I  printed  them  in  the  papers,  and 
they  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  publick. 

A.s  soon  as  he  was  gone,  I  recurrd  to  my  two 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  1 99 

friends ;  and  because  I  would  not  give  an  unkind 
preference  to  either,  I  took  half  of  what  each  had 
offered  and  I  wanted  of  one,  and  half  of  the  other ; 
paid  off  the  company's  debts,  and  went  on  with  the 
business  in  my  own  name,  advertising  that  the  part- 
nership was  dissolved.  I  think  this  was  in  or  about 
the  year  1729.* 

About  this  time  there  was  a  cry  among  the  people 
for  more  paper  money,  only  fifteen  thousand  pounds 
being  extant  in  the  province,  and  that  soon  to  be 
sunk.  The  wealthy  inhabitants  oppos'd  any  addi- 
tion, being  against  all  paper  currency,  from  an  ap- 
prehension that  it  would  depreciate,  as  it  had  done  in 
New  England,  to  the  prejudice  of  all  creditors.  We 
had  discuss'd  this  point  in  our  Junto,  where  I  was 
on  the  side  of  an  addition,  being  persuaded  that  the 
first  small  sum  struck  in  1723  had  done  much  good 
by  increasing  the  trade,  employment,  and  number 
of  inhabitants  in  the  province,  since  I  now  saw  all 
the  old  houses  inhabited,  and  many  new  ones  build- 
ing :  whereas  I  remembered  well,  that  when  I  first 
walk'd  about  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  eating  my 
roll,  I  saw  most  of  the  houses  in  Walnut-street,  be- 
tween Second  and  Front  streets,  with  bills  on  their 
doors,  "  To  be  let ;"  and  many  likewise  in  Chestnut- 
street  and  other  streets,  which  made  me  then  think 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  deserting  it  one  after 
another. 


*  By  the  agreement  of  dissolution,  still  extant,  it  appears  that  it  took 
place  July  14th,  1730. — S. 


200  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Our  debates  possess'd  me  so  fully  of  the  subject, 
that  I  wrote  and  printed  an  anonymous  pamphlet  on 
it,  entitled  "  The  Nature  and  Necessity  of  a  Pafer 
Currency.'"  It  was  well  receiv'd  by  the  common 
people  in  general ;  but  the  rich  men  dislik'd  it,  for 
it  increas'd  and  strengthen'd  the  clamor  for  more 
money,  and  they  happening  to  have  no  writers 
among  them  that  were  able  to  answer  it,  their  oppo- 
sition slacken'd,  and  the  point  was  carried  by  a 
majority  in  the  House.  My  friends  there,  who  con- 
ceiv'd  I  had  been  of  some  service,  thought  fit  to  re- 
ward me  by  employing  me  in  printing  the  money ; 
a  very  profitable  jobb  and  a  great  help  to  me.  This 
was  another  advantage  gain'd  by  my  being  able  to 
write. 

The  utility  of  this  currency  became  by  time  and 
experience  so  evident  as  never  afterwards  to  be  much 
disputed ;  so  that  it  grew  soon  to  rlfty-five  thousand 
pounds,  and  in  1739  to  eighty  thousand  pounds, 
since  which  it  arose  during  war  to  upwards  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds,  trade,  building, 
and  inhabitants  all  the  while  increasing,  tho'  I  now 
think  there  are  limits  beyond  which  the  quantity 
may  be  hurtful. 

I  soon  after  obtain'd,  thro'  my  friend  Hamilton, 
the  printing  of  the  Newcastle  paper  money,  another 
profitable  jobb  as  I  then  thought  it ;  small  things 
appearing  great  to  those  in  small  circumstances ; 
and  these,  to  me,  were  really  great  advantages,  as 
they  were  great  encouragements.     He  procured  for 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  20i 

me,  also,  the  printing  of  the  laws  and  votes  of  that 
government,  which  continu'  d  in  my  hands  as  long 
as  I  folio w'd  the  business. 

I  now  open'd  a  little  stationer's  shop.  I  had  in  it 
blanks  of  all  sorts,  the  correctest  that  ever  appear'd 
among  us,  being  assisted  in  that  by  my  friend 
Breintnal.  I  had  also  paper,  parchment,  chapmen's 
books,  etc.  One  Whitemash,  a  compositor  I  had 
known  in  London,  an  excellent  workman,  now  came 
to  me,  and  work'd  with  me  constantly  and  diligently  ; 
and  I  took  an  apprentice,  the  son  of  Aquila  Rose. 

I  began  now  gradually  to  pay  off  the  debt  I  was^ 
under  for  the  printing-house.  In  order  to  secure  my 
credit  and  character  as  a  tradesman,  I  took  care  not  I 
only  to  be  in  reality  industrious  and  frugal,  but  to 
avoid  all  appearances  to  the  contrary,  I  drest 
plainly  ;  I  was  seen  at  no  places  of  idle  diversion.  I 
never  went  out  a  fishing  or  shooting ;  a  book,  in- 
deed, sometimes  debauch'd  me  from  my  work,  but 
that  was  seldom,  snug,  and  gave  no  scandal ;  and, 
to  show  that  I  was  not  above  my  business,  I  some- 
times brought  home  the  paper  I  purchas'd  at  the 
stores  thro'  the  streets  on  a  wheelbarrow.  Thus 
being  esteem'd  an  industrious,  thriving  young  man, 
and  paying  duly  for  what  I  bought,  the  merchants 
who  imported  stationery  solicited  my  custom  ;  others 
proposed  supplying  me  with  books,  and  I  went  on 
swimmingly.  In  the  mean  time,  Keimer's  credit 
and  business  declining  daily,  he  was  at  last  forc'd 
to  sell  his  printing-house  to  satisfy  his  creditors.     He 


202  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

went  to  Barbadoes,  and  there  lived  some  years  in 
very  poor  circumstances. 

His  apprentice,  David  Harry,  whom  I  had  in- 
structed while  I  work'd  with  him,  set  up  in  his 
place  at  Philadelphia,  having  bought  his  materials. 
I  was  at  first  apprehensive  of  a  powerful  rival  in 
Harry,  as  his  friends  were  very  able,  and  had  a  good 
deal  of  interest.  I  therefore  propos'd  a  partnership 
to  him,  which  he,  fortunately  for  me,  rejected  with 
scorn.  He  was  very  proud,  dress'd  like  a  gentle- 
man, liv'd  expensively,  took  much  diversion  and 
pleasure  abroad,  ran  in  debt,  and  neglected  his  busi- 
ness ;  upon  which,  all  business  left  him ;  and,  find- 
ing nothing  to  do,  he  follow'd  Keimer  to  Barbadoes, 
taking  the  printing-house  with  him.  There  this 
apprentice  employ'd  his  former  master  as  a  journey- 
man ;  they  quarrel'd  often ;  Harry  went  continually 
behindhand,  and  at  length  was  forc'd  to  sell  his 
types  and  return  to  his  country  work  in  Pensilvania. 
The  person  that  bought  them  employ'd  Keimer  to 
use  them,  but  in  a  few  years  he  died. 

There  remained  now  no  competitor  with  me  at 
Philadelphia  but  the  old  one,  Bradford;  who  was 
rich  and  easy,  did  a  little  printing  now  and  then  by 
straggling  hands,  but  was  not  very  anxious  about 
the  business.  However,  as  he  kept  the  post-office, 
it  was  imagined  he  had  better  opportunities  of  ob- 
taining news  ;  his  paper  was  thought  a  better  distri- 
buter of  advertisements  than  mine,  and  therefore 
had  many  more,   which  was  a  profitable  thing  to 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  203 

him,  and  a  disadvantage  to  me ;  for,  tho'  I  did 
indeed  receive  and  send  papers  by  the  post,  yet  the 
publick  opinion  was  otherwise,  for  what  I  did  send 
was  by  bribing  the  riders,  who  took  them  privately, 
Bradford  being  unkind  enough  to  forbid  it,  which 
occasion'd  some  resentment  on  my  part ;  and  1 
thought  so  meanly  of  him  for  it,  that,  when  I 
afterward  came  into  his  situation,  I  took  care  never 
to  imitate  it. 

I  had  hitherto  continu'd  to  board  with  Godfrey, 
who  lived  in  part  of  my  house  with  his  wife  and 
children,  and  had  one  side  of  the  shop  for  his 
glazier's  business,  tho'  he  worked  little,  being 
always  absorbed  in  his  mathematics.  Mrs.  Godfrey 
projected  a  match  for  me  with  a  relation's  daughter, 
took  opportunities  of  bringing  us  often  together,  till 
a  serious  courtship  on  my  part  ensu'd,  the  girl  being 
in  herself  very  deserving.  The  old  folks  encour- 
ag'd  me  by  continual  invitations  to  supper,  and  De- 
leaving us  together,  till  at  length  it  was  time  to 
explain.  Mrs.  Godfrey  manag'd  our  little  treaty, 
i  let  her  know  that  I  expected  as  much  money  with 
their  daughter  as  would  pay  off  my  remaining  debt 
for  the  printing-house,  which  I  believe  was  not  then 
above  a  hundred  pounds.  She  brought  me  word 
they  had  no  such  sum  to  spare ;  I  said  they  might 
mortgage  their  house  in  the  loan-office.  The  an- 
swer to  this,  after  some  days,  was,  that  they  did  not 
approve  the  match ;  that,  on  inquiry  of  Bradford, 
they  had  been  inform'd  the  printing  business  was 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

not  a  profitable  one;  the  types  would  soon  be  worn 
out,  and  more  wanted;  that  S.  Keimer  and  D. 
Harry  had  failed  one  after  the  other,  and  I  should 
probably  soon  follow  them ;  and,  therefore,  I  was 
forbidden  the  house,  and  the  daughter  shut  up. 

Whether  this  was  a  real  change  of  sentiment  or 
only  artifice,  on  a  supposition  of  our  being  too  far 
engaged  in  affection  to  retract,  and  therefore  that 
we  should  steal  a  marriage,  which  would  leave  them 
at  liberty  to  give  or  withhold  what  they  pleas'd,  I 
know  not ;  but  I  suspected  the  latter,  resented  it, 
and  went  no  more.  Mrs.  Godfrey  brought  me 
afterward  some  more  favorable  accounts  of  their 
disposition,  and  would  have  drawn  me  on  again  ; 
out  I  declared  absolutely  my  resolution  to  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  that  family.  This  was 
resented  by  the  Godfreys ;  we  differ'd,  and  they 
removed,  leaving  me  the  whole  house,  and  I  re- 
solved to  take  no  more  inmates. 

But  this  affair  having  turned  my  thoughts  to  mar- 
riage, I  look'd  round  me  and  made  overtures  of 
acquaintance  in  other  places ;  but  soon  found  that, 
the  business  of  a  printer  being  generally  thought  a 
poor  one,  I  was  not  to  expect  money  with  a  wife, 
unless  with  such  a  one  as  I  should  not  otherwise 
think  agreeable.  In  the  mean  time,  that  hard-to-be- 
governed  passion  of  youth  hurried  me  frequently 
into  intrigues  with  low  women  that  fell  in  my  way, 
which  were  attended  with  some  expense  and  great 
inconvenience,   besides    a    continual    risque   to    my 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  205 

health  by  a  distemper  which  of  all  things  I  dreaded, 
though  by  great  good  luck  I  escaped  it.  A  friendly 
correspondence  as  neighbors  and  old  acquaintances 
had  continued  between  me  and  Mrs.  Read's  family, 
who  all  had  a  regard  for  me  from  the  time  of  my 
first  lodging  in  their  house.  I  was  often  invited  there 
and  consulted  in  their  affairs,  wherein  I  sometimes 
was  of  service.  I  piti'd  poor  Miss  Read's  unfortunate 
situation,  who  was  generally  dejected,  seldom  cheer- 
ful, and  avoided  company.  I  considered  my  giddi- 
ness and  inconstancy  when  in  London  as  in  a  great 
degree  the  cause  of  her  unhappiness,  tho'  the  mother 
was  good  enough  to  think  the  fault  more  her  own  than 
mine,  as  she  had  prevented  our  marrying  before  I 
went  thither,  and  persuaded  the  other  match  in  my 
absence.  Our  mutual  affection  was  revived,  but 
there  were  now  great  objections  to  our  union.  The 
match  was  indeed  looked  upon  as  invalid,  a  preced- 
ing wife  being  said  to  be  living  in  England ;  but 
this  could  not  easily  be  prov'd,  because  of  the  dis- 
tance ;  and,  tho'  there  was  a  report  of  his  death,  it 
was  not  certain.  Then,  tho'  it  should  be  true,  he 
had  left  many  debts,  which  his  successor  might  be 
call'd  upon  to  pay.  We  ventured,  however,  over 
all  these  difficulties,  and  I  took  her  to  wife,  Sep- 
tember 1st,  1730.  None  of  the  inconveniences 
happened  that  we  had  apprehended ;  she  proved  a 
good  and  faithful  helpmate,  assisted  me  much  by 
attending  the  shop ;  we  throve  together,  and  have 
ever    mutually    endeavor'd     to     make     each    other 


206  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

happ\\     Thus  I   corrected  that   great  erratum  as 
well  as  I  could.* 


*  Mrs.  Franklin  survived  her  marriage  over  forty  years.  She  died 
December  19,  1774.  She  seems  to  have  been  a  sensible  woman  and 
a  devoted  wife.  Franklin's  correspondence  abounds  with  evidence 
that  their  union  was  a  happy  one,  and  in  a  letter  to  Miss  Catharine  Ray, 
afterwards  wife  of  Gov.  Green  of  Rhode  Island,  who  sent  him  some 
cheese,  he  alludes  to  his  wife  in  a  way  to  reveal  the  ripened  affection 
which  subsisted  between  them.     Sparks,  vol.  vii.  p.  92  : 

"  Mrs.  Franklin  was  very  proud  that  a  young  lady  should  have  so 
much  regard  for  her  old  husband  as  to  send  him  such  a  present.  We 
talk  of  you  every  time  it  comes  to  table.  She  is  sure  you  are  a  sensible 
girl,  and  a  notable  housewife,  and  talks  of  bequeathing  me  to  you  as  a 
legacy ;  but  I  ought  to  wish  you  a  better,  and  hope  she  will  live  these 
hundred  years  ;  for  we  are  grown  old  together,  and  if  she  has  any  faults, 
I  am  so  used  to  them  that  I  don't  perceive  them.    As  the  song  says  : 

" '  Some  faults  we  have  all,  and  so  has  my  Joan, 
But  then  they're  exceedingly  small ; 
And,  now  I'm  grown  used  to  them,  so  like  my  own, 
I  scarcely  can  see  them  at  all, 

My  dear  friends, 
I  scarcely  can  see  them  at  all.' 

"  Indeed  I  begin  to  think  she  has  none,  as  I  think  of  you.  And  since 
she  is  willing  I  should  love  you  as  much  as  you  are  willing  to  be  loved 
by  me,  let  us  join  in  wishing  the  old  lady  a  long  life  and  a  happy." 

The  author  here  quotes  a  stanza  from  one  of  his  own  "  Songs,"  written 
for  the  Junto.  It  has  been  printed  in  Professor  McVickar's  Life  ot  Di. 
Samuel  Bard : 


"  My  Plain  Country  Joan  ;  A  Song. 

Of  their  Chloes  and  Phyllises  poets  may  prate, 

I  sing  my  plain  country  Joan, 
These  twelve  years  my  wife,  still  the  joy  of  my  life, 

Blest  day  that  I  made  her  my  own. 

Not  a  word  of  her  face,  ot  her  shape,  or  her  air, 
Or  of  flames  or  of  darts  you  shall  hear ; 

I  beauty  admire,  but  virtue  I  prize, 
That  fades  not  in  seventy  year. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  207 

About  this  time,  our  club  meeting,  not  at  a  tavern, 
but  in  a  little  room  of  Mr.  Grace's,  set  apart  for  that 
purpose,  a  proposition  was  made  by  me,  that,  since 
our  books  were  often  referr'd  to  in  our  disquisitions 
upon  the  queries,  it  might  be  convenient  to  us  to 
have  them  altogether  where  we  met,  that  upon  oc- 
casion they  might  be  consulted ;  and  by  thus  club- 
bing our  books  to  a  common  library,  we  should, 
while  we  lik'd  to  keep  them  together,  have  each  of 
us  the  advantage  of  using  the  books  of  all  the  other 
members,  which  would  be  nearly  as  beneficial  as  if 


1  Am  I  loaded  with  care,  she  takes  off  a  large  share ; 

That  the  burden  ne'er  makes  me  to  reel ; 
Does  good  fortune  arrive,  the  joy  of  my  wife 
Quite  doubles  the  pleasure  I  feel. 

'  She  defends  my  good  name,  even  when  I'm  to  blame, 

Firm  friend  as  to  man  e'er  was  given  ; 
Her  compassionate  breast  feels  for  all  the  distressed, 
Which  draws  down  more  blessings  from  heaven. 

■  In  health  a  companion  delightful  and  dear, 

Still  easy,  engaging,  and  free ; 
In  sickness  no  less  than  the  carefulest  nurse, 
As  tender  as  tender  can  be. 

'  In  peace  and  good  order  my  household  she  guides, 

Right  careful  to  save  what  I  gain ; 
Yet  cheerfully  spends,  and  smiles  on  the  friends 

I've  the  pleasure  to  entertain. 

Some  faults  have  we  all,  and  so  has  my  Joan, 

But  then  they're  exceedingly  small ; 
And,  now  I'm  grown  used  to  them,  so  like  my  own, 

I  scarcely  can  see  them  at  all. 

'Were  the  finest  young  princess,  with  millions  in  purse 

To  be  had  in  exchange  for  my  Joan, 
I  could  not  get  better  wife,  might  get  a  worse, 

So  I'll  stick  to  my  dearest  old  Joan  " — Ed. 


208  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

each  owned  the  whole.  It  was  lik'd  and  agreed 
to,  and  we  fill'd  one  end  of  the  room  with  such 
books  as  we  could  best  spare.  The  number  was 
not  so  great  as  we  expected ;  and  tho'  they  had 
been  of  great  use,  yet  some  inconveniences  occur- 
ring for  want  of  due  care  of  them,  the  collection, 
after  about  a  year,  was  separated,  and  each  took  his 
books  home  again. 

And  now  I  set  on  foot  my  first  project  of  a  public 
nature,  that  for  a  subscription  library.  I  drew  up 
the  proposals,  got  them  put  into  form  by  our  great 
scrivener,  Brockden,  and,  by  the  help  of  my  friends 
in  the  Junto,  procured  fifty  subscribers  of  forty  shil- 
i  lings  each  to  begin  with,  and  ten  shillings  a  year  for 
fifty  years,  the  term  our  company  was  to  continue. 
We  afterwards  obtain'd  a  charter,  the  company 
being  increased  to  one  hundred :  this  was  the 
mother  of  all  the  North  American  subscription 
libraries,  now  so  numerous.  It  is  become  a  great 
thing  itself,  and  continually  increasing.  These 
libraries  have  improved  the  general  conversation 
of  the  Americans,  made  the  common  tradesmen  and 
farmers  as  intelligent  as  most  gentlemen  from  other 
countries,  and  perhaps  have  contributed  in  some 
degree  to  the  stand  so  generally  made  throughout 
the  colonies  in  defence  of  their  privileges. 

Mem0.  Thus  far  was  written  with  the  intention 
express'd  in  the  beginning  and  therefore  contains 
several  little  family  anecdotes  of  no  importance  to 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  20g 

others.  What  follows  was  written  many  years  after 
in  compliance  with  the  advice  contain'd  in  these 
letters,  and  accordingly  intended  for  the  public. 
The  affairs  of  the  Revolution  occasion'd  the  inter- 
ruption. 


Letter  from  Mr.  Abel  James ,  with  Notes  of  my 
Life  {received  in  Paris). 

"IV  MY  Dear  and  Honored  Friend:  I  have 
XV JL  often  been  desirous  of  writing  to  thee,  but 
could  not  be  reconciled  to  the  thought,  that  the 
letter  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  lest 
some  printer  or  busy-body  should  publish  some  part 
of  the  contents,  and  give  our  friend  pain,  and  my- 
self censure. 

"  Some  time  since  there  fell  into  my  hands,  to 
my  great  joy,  about  twenty-three  sheets  in  thy  own 
handwriting,  containing  an  account  of  the  pa- 
rentage and  life  of  thyself,  directed  to  thy  son,  end- 
ing in  the  year  1730,  with  which  there  were  notes, 
likewise  in  thy  writing ;  a  copy  of  which  I  inclose, 

in  hopes  it  may  be  a  means,  if  thou  continued  it 
210 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  211 

up  to  a  later  period,  that  the  first  and  latter  part 
may  be  put  together ;  and  if  it  is  not  yet  continued, 
I  hope  thee  will  not  delay  it.  Life  is  uncertain, 
as  the  preacher  tells  us ;  and  what  will  the  world 
say  if  kind,  humane,  and  benevolent  Ben.  Franklin 
should  leave  his  friends  and  the  world  deprived  of 
so  pleasing  and  profitable  a  work ;  a  work  which 
would  be  useful  and  entertaining  not  only  to  a  few, 
but  to  millions  ?  The  influence  writings  under  that 
class  have  on  the  minds  of  youth  is  very  great,  and 
has  nowhere  appeared  to  me  so  plain,  as  in  our 
public  friend's  journals.  It  almost  insensibly  leads 
the  youth  into  the  resolution  of  endeavoring  to  be- 
come as  good  and  eminent  as  the  journalist.  Should 
thine,  for  instance,  when  published  (and  I  think  it 
could  not  fail  of  it) ,  lead  the  youth  to  equal  the  in- 
dustry and  temperance  of  thy  early  youth,  what  a 
blessing  with  that  class  would  such  a  work  be !  I 
know  of  no  character  living,  nor  many  of  them  put 
together,  who  has  so  much  in  his  power  as  thyself 
to  promote  a  greater  spirit  of  industry  and  early 
attention  to  business,  frugality,  and  temperance  with 
the  American  youth.  Not  that  I  think  the  work 
would  have  no  other  merit  and  use  in  the  world,  far 
from  it ;  but  the  first  is  of  such  vast  importance  that 
I  know  nothing  that  can  equal  it." 

The  foregoing  letter  and  the  minutes  accompany- 
ing it  being  shown  to  a  friend,  I  received  from  him 
the  following : 


212  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Letter  from  Mr.  Benjamin  Vaugkan. 

"  Paris,  January  31,  1783. 

"My  Dearest  Sir  :  When  I  had  read  over  yom 
sheets  of  minutes  of  the  principal  incidents  of  your 
life,  recovered  for  you  by  your  Quaker  acquaintance, 
I  told  you  I  would  send  you  a  letter  expressing  my 
reasons  why  I  thought  it  would  be  useful  to  com- 
plete and  publish  it  as  he  desired.  Various  con- 
cerns have  for  some  time  past  prevented  this  letter 
being  written,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was 
worth  any  expectation ;  happening  to  be  at  leisure, 
however,  at  present,  I  shall  by  writing,  at  least,  in- 
terest and  instruct  myself;  but  as  the  terms  I  am 
inclined  to  use  may  tend  to  offend  a  person  of  your 
manners,  I  shall  only  tell  you  how  I  would  address 
any  other  person,  who  was  as  good  and  as  great  as 
yourself,  but  less  diffident.  I  would  say  to  him,  Sir, 
I  solicit  the  history  of  your  life  from  the  following 
motives  :  Your  history  is  so  remarkable,  that  if  you 
do  not  give  it,  somebody  else  will  certainly  give  it ; 
and  perhaps  so  as  nearly  to  do  as  much  harm,  as 
your  own  management  of  the  thing  might  do  good. 
It  will  moreover  present  a  table  of  the  internal 
circumstances  of  your  country,  which  will  very 
much  tend  to  invite  to  it  settlers  of  virtuous  and 
manly  minds.  And  considering  the  eagerness  with 
which  such  information  is  sought  by  them,  and  the 
extent  of  your  reputation,  I  do  not  know  of  a  more 
efficacious  advertisement  than  your  biography  would 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  21 3 

give.  All  that  has  happened  to  you  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  detail  of  the  manners  and  situation 
of  a  rising  people ;  and  in  this  respect  I  do  not 
think  that  the  writings  of  Cassar  and  Tacitus  can  be 
more  interesting  to  a  true  judge  of  human  nature 
and  society.  But  these,  sir,  are  small  reasons,  in 
my  opinion,  compared  with  the  chance  which  your 
life  will  give  for  the  forming  of  future  great  men ; 
and  in  conjunction  with  your  Art  of  Virtue  (which 
you  design  to  publish)  of  improving  the  features  of 
private  character,  and  consequently  of  aiding  all 
happiness,  both  public  and  domestic.  The  two 
works  I  allude  to,  sir,  will  in  particular  give  a  noble 
rule  and  example  of  self-education.  School  and 
other  education  constantly  proceed  upon  false  prin- 
ciples, and  show  a  clumsy  apparatus  pointed  at  a 
false  mark ;  but  your  apparatus  is  simple,  and  the 
mark  a  true  one ;  and  while  parents  and  young 
persons  are  left  destitute  of  other  just  means  of 
estimating  and  becoming  prepared  for  a  reasonable 
course  in  life,  your  discovery  that  the  thing  is  in 
many  a  man's  private  power,  will  be  invaluable  ! 
Influence  upon  the  private  character,  late  in  life, 
is  not  only  an  influence  late  in  life,  but  a  weak  in- 
fluence. It  is  in  youth  that  we  plant  our  chief  habits 
and  prejudices  ;  it  is  in  youth  that  we  take  our  party 
as  to  profession,  pursuits  and  matrimony.  In  youth, 
therefore,  the  turn  is  given ;  in  youth  the  education 
even  of  the  next  generation  is  given ;  in  youth  the 
private  and  public  character  is  determined ;  and  the 


214  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

term  of  life  extending  but  from  youth  to  age,  life 
ought  to  begin  well  from  youth,  and  more  especially 
before  we  take  our  party  as  to  our  principal  objects. 
But  your  biography  will  not  merely  teach  self- 
education,  but  the  education  of  a  wise  man ;  and 
the  wisest  man  will  receive  lights  and  improve  his 
progress,  by  seeing  detailed  the  conduct  of  another 
wise  man.  And  why  are  weaker  men  to  be  de- 
prived of  such  helps,  when  we  see  our  race  has 
been  blundering  on  in  the  dark,  almost  without  a 
guide  in  this  particular,  from  the  farthest  trace  of 
time?  Show  then,  sir,  how  much  is  to  be  done, 
both  to  sons  and  fathers ;  and  invite  all  wise  men  to 
become  like  yourself,  and  other  men  to  become  wise. 
When  we  see  how  cruel  statesmen  and  warriors  can 
be  to  the  human  race,  and  how  absurd  distinguished 
men  can  be  to  their  acquaintance,  it  will  be  in- 
structive to  observe  the  instances  multiply  of  pacific, 
acquiescing  manners ;  and  to  find  how  compatible 
it  is  to  be  great  and  domestic,  enviable  and  yet  good- 
humored. 

"The  little  private  incidents  which  you  will  also 
have  to  relate,  will  have  considerable  use,  as  we 
want,  above  all  things,  rules  of  prudence  in  ordinary 
affairs ;  and  it  will  be  curious  to  see  how  you  have 
acted  in  these.  It  will  be  so  far  a  sort  of  key  to 
life,  and  explain  many  things  that  all  men  ought  to 
have  once  explained  to  them,  to  give  them  a  chance 
of  becoming  wise  by  foresight.  The  nearest  thing 
to  having  experience  of  one's  own,  is  to  have  other 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  21 5 

people's  affairs  brought  before  us  in  a  shape  that  is 
interesting ;  this  is  sure  to  happen  from  your  pen ; 
our  affairs  and  management  will  have  an  air  of  sim- 
plicity or  importance  that  will  not  fail  to  strike  ;  and 
I  am  convinced  you  have  conducted  them  with  as 
much  originality  as  if  you  had  been  conducting  dis- 
cussions in  politics  or  philosophy ;  and  what  more 
worthy  of  experiments  and  system  (its  importance 
and  its  errors  considered)  than  human  life? 

"  Some  men  have  been  virtuous  blindly,  others 
have  speculated  fantastically,  and  others  have  been 
shrewd  to  bad  purposes ;  but  you,  sir,  I  am  sure, 
will  give  under  your  hand,  nothing  but  what  is  at 
the  same  moment,  wise,  practical  and  good.  Your 
account  of  yourself  (for  I  suppose  the  parallel  I  am 
drawing  for  Dr.  Franklin,  will  hold  not  only  in 
point  of  character,  but  of  private  history)  will  show 
that  you  are  ashamed  of  no  origin ;  a  thing  the 
more  important,  as  you  prove  how  little  necessary 
all  origin  is  to  happiness,  virtue,  or  greatness.  As 
no  end  likewise  happens  without  a  means,  so  we 
shall  find,  sir,  that  even  you  yourself  framed  a  plan 
by  which  you  became  considerable  ;  but  at  the  same 
time  we  may  see  that  though  the  event  is  flattering, 
the  means  are  as  simple  as  wisdom  could  make 
them  ;  that  is,  depending  upon  nature,  virtue,  thought 
and  habit.  Another  thing  demonstrated  will  be 
the  propriety  of  every  man's  waiting  for  his  time  for 
appearing  upon  the  stage  of  the  world.  Our  sen- 
sations being  very  mucii  fixed  to  the  moment,  we 


2l6  AUTOBIOGRAPHT  OF 

are  apt  to  forget  that  more  moments  are  to  follow 
the  first,  and  consequently  that  man  should  arrange 
his  conduct  so  as  to  suit  the  whole  of  a  life.  Your 
attribution  appears  to  have  been  applied  to  your  life, 
and  the  passing  moments  of  it  have  been  enlivened 
with  content  and  enjoyment,  instead  of  being  tor- 
mented with  foolish  impatience  or  regrets.  Such  a 
conduct  is  easy  for  those  who  make  virtue  and  them- 
selves in  countenance  by  examples  of  other  truly 
great  men,  of  whom  patience  is  so  often  the  charac- 
teristic. Your  Quaker  correspondent,  sir  (for  here 
again  I  will  suppose  the  subject  of  my  letter  resem- 
bling Dr.  Franklin),  praised  your  frugality,  dili- 
gence and  temperance,  which  he  considered  as  a 
pattern  for  all  youth ;  but  it  is  singular  that  he 
should  have  forgotten  your  modesty  and  your  dis- 
interestedness, without  which  you  never  could  have 
waited  for  your  advancement,  or  found  your  situa- 
tion in  the  mean  time  comfortable  ;  which  is  a  strong 
lesson  to  show  the  poverty  of  glory  and  the  importance 
of  regulating  our  minds.  If  this  correspondent  had 
known  the  nature  of  your  reputation  as  well  as  I 
do,  he  would  have  said,  Your  former  writings  and 
measures  would  secure  attention  to  your  Biography, 
and  Art  of  Virtue ;  and  your  Biography  and  Art  of 
Virtue,  in  return,  would  secure  attention  to  them. 
This  is  an  advantage  attendant  upon  a  various  cha- 
racter, and  which  brings  all  that  belongs  to  it  into 
greater  play ;  and  it  is  the  more  useful,  as  perhaps 
more  persons  are  at  a  loss  for  the  means  of  improv- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2\J 

ing  theii  minds  and  characters,  than  they  are  for 
the  time  or  the  inclination  to  do  it.  But  there  is 
one  concluding  reflection,  sir,  that  will  shew  the 
use  of  your  life  as  a  mere  piece  of  biography.  This 
style  of  writing  seems  a  little  gone  out  of  vogue, 
;md  yet  it  is  a  very  useful  one  ;  and  your  specimen 
jf  it  may  be  particularly  serviceable,  as  it  will  make 
a  subject  of  comparison  with  the  lives  of  various  public 
cut-throats  and  intriguers,  and  with  absurd  monastic 
self-tormentors  or  vain  literary  triflers.  If  it  encour- 
ages more  writings  of  the  same  kind  with  your  own, 
and  induces  more  men  to  spend  lives  fit  to  be  written, 
it  will  be  worth  all  Plutarch's  Lives  put  together. 
But  being  tired  of  figuring  to  myself  a  character 
of  which  every  feature  suits  only  one  man  in  the 
world,  without  giving  him  the  praise  of  it,  I  shall 
end  my  letter,  my  dear  Dr.  Franklin,  with  a  per- 
sonal application  to  your  proper  self.  I  am  earn- 
estly desirous,  then,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  should 
\  let  the  world  into  the  traits  of  your  genuine  cha- 
racter, as  civil  broils  may  otherwise  tend  to  disguise 
or  traduce  it.  Considering  your  great  age,  the 
caution  of  your  character,  and  your  peculiar  style 
of  thinking,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  one  besides 
yourself  can  be  sufficiently  master  of  the  facts  of 
your  life,  or  the  intentions  of  your  mind.  Besides 
all  this,  the  immense  revolution  of  the  present 
period,  will  necessarily  turn  our  attention  towards 
the  author  of  it,  and  when  virtuous  principles  have 
been  pretended  in  it,  it  will  be  highly  important  to 

19  K 


2l8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

shew  that  such  have  really  influenced ;  and,  as  your 
own  character  will  be  the  principal  one  to  receive  a 
scrutiny,  it  is  proper  (even  for  its  effects  upon  your 
vast  and  rising  country,  as  well  as  upon  England 
and  upon  Europe)  that  it  should  stand  respectable 
and  eternal.  For  the  furtherance  of  human  happi- 
ness, I  have  always  maintained  that  it  is  necessary 
to  prove  that  man  is  not  even  at  present  a  vicious 
and  detestable  animal ;  and  still  more  to  prove  that 
good  management  may  greatly  amend  him ;  and  it 
is  for  much  the  same  reason,  that  I  am  anxious  to 
see  the  opinion  established,  that  there  are  fair  cha- 
racters existing  among  the  individuals  of  the  race ; 
for  the  moment  that  all  men,  without  exception, 
shall  be  conceived  abandoned,  good  people  will 
cease  efforts  deemed  to  be  hopeless,  and  perhaps 
think  of  taking  their  share  in  the  scramble  of  life, 
or  at  least  of  making  it  comfortable  principally  for 
themselves.  Take  then,  my  dear  sir,  this  work 
most  speedily  into  hand :  shew  yourself  good  as 
you  are  good  ;  temperate  as  you  are  temperate  ;  and 
above  all  things,  prove  yourself  as  one,  who  from 
your  infancy  have  loved  justice, -liberty  and  concord, 
in  a  way  that  has  made  it  natural  and  consistent  for 
you  to  have  acted,  as  we  have  seen  you  act  in  the 
last  seventeen  years  of  your  life.  Let  Englishmen 
be  made  not  only  to  respect,  but  even  to  love  you. 
When  they  think  well  of  individuals  in  your  native 
country,  they  will  go  nearer  to  thinking  well  of 
your  country  ;  and  when  your  countrymen  see  them- 


! 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  219 

/  selves  well  thought  of  by  Englishmen,  they  will  go 
}  nearer  to  thinking  well  of  England.  Extend  your 
views  even  further ;  do  not  stop  at  those  who  speak 
the  English  tongue,  but  after  having  settled  so  many 
points  in  nature  and  politics,  think  of  bettering  the 
whole  race  of  men.  As  I  have  not  read  any  part 
of  the  life  in  question,  but  know  only  the  character 
that  lived  it,  I  write  somewhat  at  hazard.  I  am 
sure,  however,  that  the  life  and  the  treatise  I  allude 
to  (on  the  Art  of  Virtue)  will  necessarily  fulfil  the 
chief  of  my  expectations  ;  and  -  still  more  so  if  you 
take  up  the  measure  of  suiting  these  performances  to 
the  several  views  above  stated.  Should  they  even 
prove  unsuccessful  in  all  that  a  sanguine  admirer  of 
yours  hopes  from  them,  you  will  at  least  have  framed 
pieces  to  interest  the  human  mind ;  and  whoever 
gives  a  feeling  of  pleasure  that  is  innocent  to  man, 
has  added  so  much  to  the  fair  side  of  a  life  otherwise 
too  much  darkened  by  anxiety  and  too  much  injured 
by  pain.  In  the  hope,  therefore,  that  you  will 
listen  to  the  prayer  addressed  to  you  in  this  letter,  I 
beg  to  subscribe  myself,  my  dearest  sir,  etc.,  etc., 
"  Signed,  .  Benj.  Vaughan." 


Continuation  of  the  Account  of  my  Life,  begun  at 
Passy,  near  Paris,  1784. 

It  is  some  time  since  I  receiv'd  the  above  letters, 
but  I  have  been  too  busy  till  now  to  think  of  com- 


220  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

plying  with  the  request  they  contain.  It  might,  too, 
be  much  better  done  if  I  were  at  home  among  my 
papers,  which  would  aid  my  memory,  and  help  to 
ascertain  dates ;  but  my  return  being  uncertain,  and 
having  just  now  a  little  leisure,  I  will  endeavor  to 
recollect  and  write  what  I  can  ;  if  I  live  to  get  home, 
it  may  there  be  corrected  and  improv'd. 

Not  having  any  copy  here  of  what  is  already  writ- 
ten, I  know  not  whether  an  account  is  given  of  the 
means  I  used  to  establish  the  Philadelphia  public 
library,  which,  from  a  small  beginning,  is  now  be- 
come so  considerable,  though  I  remember  to  have 
come  down  to  near  the  time  of  that  transaction 
(1730) .  I  will  therefore  begin  here  with  an  account 
of  it,  which  may  be  struck  out  if  found  to  have  been 
already  given. 

At  the  time  I  establish'd  myself  in  Pennsylvania, 
there  was  not  a  good  bookseller's  shop  in  any  of  the 
colonies  to  the  southward  of  Boston.  In  New  York 
and  Philad'a  the  printers  were  indeed  stationers ; 
they  sold  only  paper,  etc.,  almanacs,  ballads,  and  a 
few  common  school-books.  Those  who  lov'd  read- 
ing were  oblig'd  to  send  for  their  books  from  Eng- 
land ;  the  members  of  the  Junto  had  each  a  few. 
We  had  left  the  alehouse,  where  we  first  met,  and 
hired  a  room  to  hold  our  club  in.  I  propos'd  that 
we  should  all  of  us  bring  our  books  to  that  room, 
where  they  would  not  only  be  ready  to  consult  in 
our  conferences,  but  become  a  common  benefit,  each 
of  us  being  at  liberty  to  borrow  such  as  he  wish'd 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  221 

to  read  at  home.     This  was  accordingly  done,  and 
for  some  time  contented  us. 

Finding  the  advantage  of  this  little  collection,  I 
propos'd  to  render  the  benefit  from  books  more  com- 
mon, by  commencing  a  public  subscription  library. 
I  drew  a  sketch  of  the  plan  and  rules  that  would  be 
necessary,  and  got  a  skilful  conveyancer,  Mr. 
Charles  Brockden,  to  put  the  whole  in  form  of  arti- 
cles of  agreement  to  be  subscribed,  by  which  each 
subscriber  engag'd  to  pay  a  certain  sum  down  for 
the  first  purchase  of  books,  and  an  annual  contribu- 
tion for  increasing  them.  So  few  were  the  readers 
at  that  time  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  majority  of  us 
so  poor,  that  I  was  not  able,  with  great  industry,  to 
find  more  than  fifty  persons,  mostly  young  trades- 
men, willing  to  pay  down  for  this  purpose  forty 
shillings  each,  and  ten  shillings  per  annum.  On 
this  little  fund  we  began.  The  books  were  im- 
ported ;  the  library  was  opened  one  day  in  the 
week  for  lending  to  the  subscribers,  on  their  pro- 
missory notes  to  pay  double  the  value  if  not  duly 
returned.  The  institution  soon  manifested  its  utility, 
was  imitated  by  other  towns,  and  in  other  provinces. 
The  libraries  were  augmented  by  donations ;  read- 
ing became  fashionable;  and  our  people,  having 
no  publick  amusements  to  divert  their  attention  from 
study,  became  better  acquainted  with  books,  and  in 
a  few  years  were  observ'd  by  strangers  to  be  better 
instructed  and  more  intelligent  than  people  of  the 
same  rank  generally  are  in  other  countries. 

19* 


222  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

When  we  were  about  to  sign  the  above-mentioned 
articles,  which  were  to  be  binding  on  us,  our  heirs, 
etc.,  for  fifty  years,  Mr.  Brockden,  the  scrivener, 
said  to  us,  "  You  are  young  men,  but  it  is  scarcely 
probable  that  any  of  you  will  live  to  see  the  expira- 
tion of  the  term  fix'd  in  the  instrument."  A  num- 
ber of  us,  however,  are  yet  living ;  but  the  instru- 
ment was  after  a  few  years  rendered  null  by  a 
charter  that  incorporated  and  gave  perpetuity  to  the 
company.* 

The  objections  and  reluctances  I  met  with  in  so- 
liciting the  subscriptions,  made  me  soon  feel  the  im- 
propriety of  presenting  one's  self  as  the  proposer  of 
any  useful  project,  that  might  be  suppos'd  to  raise 
one's  reputation  in  the  smallest  degree  above  that  of 
one's  neighbors,  when  one  has  need  of  their  assist- 
ance to  accomplish  that  project.  I  therefore  put 
myself  as  much  as  I  could  out  of  sight,  and  stated  it 
as  a  scheme  of  a  number  of  friends,  who  had  re- 
quested me  to  go  about  and  propose  it  to  such  as 
they  thought  lovers  of  reading.  In  this  way  my 
affair  went  on  more  smoothly,  and  I  ever  after 
practis'd  it  on  such  occasions ;  and,  from  my  fre- 
quent successes,  can  heartily  recommend  it.  The 
present  little  sacrifice  of  your  vanity  will  afterwards 
be  amply  repaid.     If  it  remains  a  while  uncertain 


*  This  library  was  founded  in  1731,  and  incorporated  in  1742.  By  the 
addition  made  to  it  of  the  library  left  by  Mr.  James  Logan,  and  by  an- 
nual purchases,  the  Philadelphia  Library  now  numbers  between  70,00c 
and  fcc-ooe  volumes. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  223 

to  whom  the  merit  belongs,  some  one  more  vain 
than  yourself  will  be  encouraged  to  claim  it,   and 
then  even  envy  will  be  disposed  to  do  you  justice  by  . 
plucking  those  assumed  feathers,  and  restoring  them/ 
to  their  right  owner.*  *"""" 

"  i* his  library  afforded  me  the  means  of  improve- 
ment by  constant  study,  for  which  I  set  apart  an 
hour  or  two  each  day,  and  thus  repair'd  in  some 
degree  the  loss  of  the  learned  education  my  father 
once  intended  for  me.  Reading  was  the  only  amuse- 
ment I  allow'd  myself.  I  spent  no  time  in  taverns, 
games,  or  frolicks  of  any  kind ;  and  my  industry  in 
my  business  continu'd  as  indefatigable  as  it  was 
necessary.  I  was  indebted  for  my  printing-house : 
I  had  a  young  family  coming  on  to  be  educated,  and 
I  had  to  contend  with  for  business  two  printers, 
who  were  established  in  the  place  before  me.  My 
circumstances,  however,  grew  daily  easier.  My 
original  habits  of  frugality  continuing,  and  my  father 
having,  among  his  instructions  to  me  when  a  boy, 
frequently  repeated  a  proverb  of  Solomon,  "  Seest 
thou  a  man  diligent  in  his  calling,  he  shall  stand 
before  kings,  he  shall  not  stand  before  mean  men," 
I  from  thence  considered  industry  as  a  means  of 
obtaining  wealth  and  distinction,  which  encourag'd 
me,  tho'   I   did  not  think  that  I  should  ever  liter- 


*  This  was  a  wise  application  of  one  of  the  most  cynical  precepts  ot 
Ovid  in  his  banishment :  "  Crede  mihi,  bene  qtd  latiiit  bene  vixit"  This 
line  was  subsequently  adopted  as  his  motto  by  the  illustrious  author 
of  the  Cartesian  philosophy. —  Tristia  Elegia,  iv.  2^  —Ed. 


224  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ally  stand  before  kings,  which,  however,  has  since 
happened ;  for  I  have  stood  before  Jive,  and  even 
had  the  honor  of  sitting  down  with  one,  the  King 
of  Denmark,  to  dinner. 

We  have  an  English  proverb  that  says,  "He  that 
would  thrive,  must  ask  his  wife"  It  was  lucky  for 
me  that  I  had  one  as  much  dispos'd  to  industry  and 
frugality  as  myself.  She  assisted  me  cheerfully  in 
my  business,  folding  and  stitching  pamphlets,  tend- 
ing shop,  purchasing  old  linen  rags  for  the  paper- 
makers,  etc.,  etc.  We  kept  no  idle  servants,  our  table 
was  plain  and  simple,  our  furniture  of  the  cheapest. 
For  instance,  my  breakfast  was  a  long  time  bread 
and  milk  (no  tea),  and  I  ate  it  out  of  a  twopenny 
earthen  porringer,  with  a  pewter  spoon.  But  mark 
how  luxury  will  enter  families,  and  make  a  progress, 
in  spite  of  principle  :  being  call'd  one  morning  to 
breakfast,  I  found  it  in  a  China  bowl,  with  a  spoon 
of  silver !  They  had  been  bought  for  me  without 
my  knowledge  by  my  wife,  and  had  cost  her  the 
enormous  sum  of  three-and-twenty  shillings,  for 
which  she  had  no  other  excuse  or  apology  to  make, 
but  that  she  thought  her  husband  deserv'd  a  silver 
spoon  and  China  bowl  as  well  as  any  of  his  neigh- 
bors. This  was  the  first  appearance  of  plate  and 
China  in  our  house,  which  afterward,  in  a  course  of 
years,  as  our  wealth  increas'd,  augmented  gradu- 
ally to  several  hundred  pounds  in  value. 

I  had  been  religiously  educated  as  a  Presbyte- 
rian ;  and  tho'  some  of  the  dogmas  of  that  persua- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  225 

sion,  such  as  the  eternal  decrees  of  God,  election, 
reprobation,  etc.,  appeared  to  me  unintelligible, 
others  doubtful,  and  I  early  absented  myself  from 
the  public  assemblies  of  the  sect,  Sunday  being  my 
studying  day,  I  never  was  without  some  religious 
principles.  I  never  doubted,  for  instance,  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Deity ;  that  he  made  the  world,  and 
govern'd  it  by  his  Providence ;  that  the  most  accept- 
able service  of  God  was  the  doing  good  to  man ; 
that  our  souls  are  immortal ;  and  that  all  crime  will 
be  punished,  and  virtue  rewarded,  either  here  or 
hereafter.  These  I  esteem'd  the  essentials  of  every 
religion ;  and,  being  to  be  found  in  all  the  religions 
we  had  in  our  country,  I  respected  them  all,  tho' 
with  different  degrees  of  respect,  as  I  found  them 
more  or  less  mix'd  with  other  articles,  which,  with- 
out any  tendency  to  inspire,  promote,  or  confirm 
morality,  serv'd  principally  to  divide  us,  and  make 
us  unfriendly  to  one  another.  This  respect  to  all, 
with  an  opinion  that  the  worst  had  some  good  effects, 
induc'd  me  to  avoid  all  discourse  that  might  tend  to 
lessen  the  good  opinion  another  might  have  of  his 
own  religion ;  and  as  our  province  increas'd  in 
people,  and  new  places  of  worship  were  continually 
wanted,  and  generally  erected  by  voluntary  contri- 
bution, my  mite  for  such  purpose,  whatever  might 
be  the  sect,  was  never  refused. 

Tho'  I  seldom  attended  any  public  worship,  I  had 
still  an  opinion  of  its  propriety,  and  of  its  utility 
when  rightly  conducted,  and  I  regularly  paid  my 


226  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

annual  subscription  for  the  support  of  the  only  Pres- 
byterian minister  or  meeting  we  had  in  Philadelphia. 
He  us'd  to  visit  me  sometimes  as  a  friend,  and  ad- 
monish me  to  attend  his  administrations,  and  I  was 
now  and  then  prevail'd  on  to  do  so,  once  for  five 
Sundays  successively.  Had  he  been  in  my  opinion 
a  good  preacher,  perhaps  I  might  have  continued, 
notwithstanding  the  occasion  I  had  for  the  Sunday's 
leisure  in  my  course  of  study ;  but  his  discourses 
were  chiefly  either  polemic  arguments,  or  explica- 
tions of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  our  sect,  and  were 
all  to  me  very  dry,  uninteresting,  and  unedifying, 
since  not  a  single  moral  principle  was  inculcated  or 
enforc'd,  their  aim  seeming  to  be  rather  to  make  us 
Presbyterians  than  good  citizens. 

At  length  he  took  for  his  text  that  verse  of  the 
fourth  chapter  of  Philippians,  "Finally,  brethren, 
whatsoever  things  are  true,  honest,  just,  -pure, 
lovely,  or  of  good  report,  if  there  be  any  virtue, 
or  any  -praise,  think  on  these  things."  And  I 
imagin'd,  in  a  sermon  on  such  a  text,  we  could  not 
miss  of  having  some  morality.  But  he  confin'd 
himself  to  five  points  only,  as  meant  by  the  apostle, 
viz.  :  i.  Keeping  holy  the  Sabbath  day.  2.  Being 
diligent  in  reading  the  holy  Scriptures.  3.  Attend- 
ing duly  the  publick  worship.  4.  Partaking  of  the 
Sacrament.  5.  Paying  a  due  respect  to  God's 
ministers.  These  might  be  all  good  things ; 
but,  as  they  were  not  the  kind  of  good  things 
that  I  expected  from  that  text,  I  despaired  of  ever 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  227 

meeting  with  them  from  any  other,  was  disgusted, 
and  attended  his  preaching  no  more.  I  had  some 
years  before  compos'd  a  little  Liturgy,  or  form  of 
prayer,  for  my  own  private  use  (viz.,  in  1728),  en- 
titled, Articles  of  Belief  and  Acts  of  Religion.  I 
return'd  to  the  use  of  this,  and  went  no  more  to  the 
public  assemblies.  My  conduct  might  be  blame- 
able,  but  I  leave  it,  without  attempting  further  to 
excuse  it ;  my  present  purpose  being  to  relate  facts, 
and  not  to  make  apologies  for  them.* 

It  was  about  this  time  I  conceiv'd  the  bold  and 
arduous  project  of  arriving  at  moral  perfection.  I 
wish'd  to  live  without  committing  any  fault  at  any 
time ;  I  would  conquer  all  that  either  natural  incli- 
nation, custom,  or  company  might  lead  me  into.  As 
I_knew,  or  thought  X  knew,  what  was  right  and 
wrong,  I  did  not  see  why  I  might  not  always  do  the 
one  and  avoid  the  other.     But  I  soon  found  I  had 


*  Giving  some  advice  to  his  daughter  Sarah,  in  a  letter  written  on  the 
eve  of  his  departure  for  England  in  1764,  the  Doctor  refers  more  at 
length  to  the  subject  of  church  ministration.     He  writes  : 

"  Go  constantly  to  church,  whoever  preaches.  The  act  of  devotion  in 
the  common  prayer-book  is  your  principal  business  there,  and,  if  pro- 
perly attended  to,  will  do  more  towards  amending  the  heart  than  ser- 
mons generally  can  do.  For  they  were  composed  by  men  of  much 
greater  piety  and  wisdom  than  our  common  composers  of  sermons  can 
pretend  to  be ;  and  therefore  I  wish  you  would  never  miss  the  prayer 
days  ;  yet  I  do  not  mean  you  should  despise  sermons  even  of  the 
preachers  you  dislike,  for  the  discourse  is  often  much  better  than  the 
man,  as  sweet  and  clear  waters  come  through  very  dirty  earth.  I  am 
the  more  particular  on  this  head  as  you  seemed  to  express  a  little  before 
I  came  away,  some  inclination  to  leave  our  church,  which  I  would  not 
have  you  do." — Ed. 


228  AUTOBIOGRAPHT  OF 

undertaken  a  task  of  more  difficulty  than  I  had 
imagined.  While  my  care  was  employ'd  in  guard- 
ing against  one  fault,  I  was  often  surprised  by  an- 
other ;  habit  took  the  advantage  of  inattention ;  in- 
clination was  sometimes  too  strong  for  reason.  I 
concluded,  at  length,  that  the  mere  speculative  con- 
viction that  it  was  our  interest  to  be  completely  vir- 
tuous, was  not  sufficient  to  prevent  our  slipping ; 
and  that  the  contrary  habits  must  be  broken,  and 
good  ones  acquired  and  established,  before  we  can 
have  any  dependence  on  a  steady,  uniform  rectitude 
of  conduct.  For  this  purpose  I  therefore  contrived 
the  following  method. 

In  the  various  enumerations  of  the  moral  virtues 
I  had  met  with  in  my  reading,  I  found  the  catalogue 
more  or  less  numerous,  as  different  writers  included 
more  or  fewer  ideas  under  the  same  name.  Tem- 
perance, for  example,  was  by  some  confined  to  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  while  by  others  it  was  extended 
to  mean  the  moderating  every  other  pleasure,  appe- 
tite, inclination,  or  passion,  bodily  or  mental,  even 
to  our  avarice  and  ambition.  I  propos'd  to  myself, 
for  the  sake  of  clearness,  to  use  rather  more  names, 
with  fewer  ideas  annex'd  to  each,  than  a  few  names 
with  more  ideas ;  and  I  included  under  thirteen 
names  of  virtues  all  that  at  that  time  occurr'd  to  me 
as  necessary  or  desirable,  and  annexed  to  each  a 
short  precept,  which  fully  express'd  the  extent  J 
gave  to  its  meaning. 

These  names  of  virtues,  with  their  precepts  were : 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2  29 

i.  Temperance. 
Eat  not  to  dullness  ;  drink  not  to  elevation. 

2.  Silence. 

Speak  not  but  what  may  benefit  others  or  your 
self:  avoid  trifling  conversation. 

3.  Order. 

Let  all  your  things  have  their  places ;  let  each 
part  of  your  business  have  its  time. 

4.  Resolution. 

Resolve   to    perform  what  you   ought;    perform 
without  fail  what  you  resolve. 

5.  Frugality. 

Make  no  expense  but  to  do  good  to  others  or 
yourself;  #\  £.,  waste  nothing. 

6.  Industry. 

Lose  no  time  ;  be  always  employ'd  in  something 
useful ;  cut  off  all  unnecessary  actions. 

7.  Sincerity. 

Use  no  hurtful  deceit ;  think  innocently  and  justly 
and,  if  you  speak,  speak  accordingly. 

8.  Justice. 

Wiong  none  by  doing  injuries,  or  omitting  the 

benefits  that  are  your  duty.      . 
20 


23O  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

9.  Moderation. 

Avoid  extreams ;  forbear  resenting  injuries  so 
much  as  you  think  they  deserve. 

10.  Cleanliness. 

Tolerate  no  uncleanliness  in  body,  cloaths,  or 
habitation. 

11.  Tranquillity. 

Be  not  disturbed  at  trifles,  or  at  accidents  com- 
mon or  unavoidable. 

12.  Chastity. 

Rarely  use  venery  but  for  health  or  offspring, 
never  to  dulness,  weakness,  or  the  injury  of  your 
own  or  another's  peace  or  reputation. 

13.  Humility. 
Imitate  Jesus  and  Socrates. 

My  intention  being  to  acquire  the  habitude  of  all 
:hese  virtues,  I  judg'd  it  would  be  well  not  to  dis- 
tract my  attention  by  attempting  the  whole  at  once, 
but  to  fix  it  on  one  of  them  at  a  time ;  and,  when  I 
should  be  master  of  that,  then  to  proceed  to  another, 
and  so  on,  till  I  should  have  gone  thro'  the  thirteen ; 
and,  as  the  previous  acquisition  of  some  might  facili- 
tate the  acquisition  of  certain  others,  I  arrang'd 
them  with  that  view,  as  they  stand  above.  Tem- 
perance first,  as  it  tends  to  procure  that  coolness  and 
clearness  of  head,  which  is  so  necessary  where  con- 
scant  vigilance  was  to  be  kept  up,  and  guard  main- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  23  I 

tained  against  the  unremitting  attraction  of  ancient 
habits,  and  the  force  of  perpetual  temptations.  This 
being  acquir'd  and  establish'd,  Silence  would  be 
more  easy  ;  and  my  desire  being  to  gain  knowledge 
at  the  same  time  that  I  improv'd  in  virtue,  and  con- 
sidering that  in  conversation  it  was  obtain'd  rather 
by  the  use  of  the  ears  than  of  the  tongue,  and  there- 
fore wishing  to  break  a  habit  I  was  getting  into  of 
prattling,  punning,  and  joking,  which  only  made  me 
acceptable  to  trifling  company,  I  gave  Silence  the 
second  place.  This  and  the  next,  Order ;  I  ex- 
pected would  allow  me  more  time  for  attending  to 
my  project  and  my  studies.  Resolution,  once  be- 
come habitual,  would  keep  me  firm  in  my  endeavors 
to  obtain  all  the  subsequent  virtues ;  Frugality  and 
Industry  freeing  me  from  my  remaining  debt,  and 
producing  affluence  and  independence,  would  make 
more  easy  the  practice  of  Sincerity  and  Justice,  etc., 
etc.  Conceiving  then,  that,  agreeably  to  the  advice 
of  Pythagoras  in  his  Golden  Verses,*  daily  exami- 


*  The  verses  here  referred  to  are  thus  given  as  Englished  from  the 
version  of  Hierocles  : 

"  In  this  place  you  should  collect  together  the  sense  of  all  the  fore- 
going precepts,  that  so  giving  heed  to  them  as  to  the  laws  of  God  in  the 
inward  judicature  of  the  soul,  you  may  make  a  just  examination  of  what 
you  have  done  well  or  ill.  For  how  will  our  remembrance  reprehend  us 
for  doing  ill,  or  praise  us  for  doing  well,  unless  the  preceding  meditation 
receive  some  laws,  according  to  which  the  whole  tenor  of  our  life  should 
be  ordered,  and  to  which  we  should  conform  the  very  private  recesses 
of  conscience  all  our  lives  long  ?  He  requires  also  that  this  examina- 
tion be  daily  repeaced,  that  by  continual  returns  of  recollection  we  may  not 
be  deceived  in  our  judgment  The  time  which  he  recommends  for  this 
work  is  about  even  or  bed-time,  that  we  may  conclude  the  action  of  the  day 


232  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

nation  would  be  necessary,  I  contrived  the  following 
method  for  conducting  that  examination. 


with  the  judgment  of  conscience,  making  the  examination  of  our  con 
versation  an  evening  song  to  God.  Wherein  have  I  transgressed; 
What  have  I  done  ?  What  duty  have  I  omitted  ?  So  shall  we  meas  irt 
our  lives  by  the  rules  above  mentioned,  if  to  the  law  of  the  mind  we 
join  the  judgment  of  reason. 

"  What  then  does  the  law  of  the  mind  say  ?  That  we  should  honor 
the  more  excellent  natures  according  to  their  essential  order,  that  we 
should  have  our  parents  and  relations  in  high  esteem,  love  and  embrace 
good  men,  raise  ourselves  above  corporeal  affections,  everywhere  stand 
in  awe  of  ourselves,  carefully  observe  justice,  consider  the  frailty  of 
riches  and  momentary  life,  embrace  the  lot  which  falls  to  us  by  divine 
judgment,  delight  in  a  divine  frame  of  spirit,  convert  our  mind  to  what 
is  most  excellent,  love  good  discourses,  not  lie  open  to  impostures,  not 
be  servilely  affected  in  the  possession  of  virtue,  advise  before  action  to 
prevent  repentance,  free  ourselves  from  uncertain  opinions,  live  with 
knowledge,  and  lastly,  that  we  should  adapt  our  bodies  and  the  things 
without  to  the  exercise  of  virtue.  These  are  the  things  which  the  law-, 
giving  mind  has  implanted  in  the  souls  of  men,  which  when  reason  ad- 
mits, it  becomes  a  most  vigilant  judge  of  itself,  in  this  manner,  Wherein 
have  I  transgressed  ?  what  have  I  done  ?  and  if  afterwards  she  finds  her- 
self to  have  spent  the  whole  day  agreeably  to  the  foregoing  rules,  she  is 
rewarded  with  a  divine  complacency.  And  if  she  find  anything  done 
amiss,  she  corrects  herself  by  the  restorative  of  an  after  admonition. 

"  Wherefore  he  would  have  us  keep  off  sleep  by  the  readiness  and 
alacrity  of  reason.  And  this  the  body  will  easily  endure,  if  temperately 
dieted  it  has  not  contracted  a  necessity  of  sleeping.  By  which  means 
even  our  most  natural  appetites  are  subjected  to  the  empire  of  reason. 

"  Do  not  admit  sleep  (says  he)  till  you  have  examin'd  every  action  of 
the  day.  And  what  is  the  form  of  examination  ?  Wherein  have  I  trans- 
gress'd  ?  what  have  I  done  ?  what  duty  have  I  omitted  ?  For  we  sin 
two  ways.  By  doing  what  we  should  not,  and  by  not  doing  what  we 
should.  For  'tis  one  thing  not  to  do  well,  and  another  thing  to  commit 
evil.     One  is  a  sin  of  omission,  and  the  other  of  commission. 

"  For  instance,  'tis  our  duty  to  pray,  but  not  to  blaspheme ;  to  nourish 
our  parents  but  not  to  revile  them.  He  that  does  the  former  of  these 
does  what  he  ought,  he  that  does  the  latter  what  he  ought  not.  Though 
there  is  Z3  much  guilt  in  a  sin  of  omission  as  in  a  sin  of  commission. 

*'  He  exhorts  also  that  we  proceed  methodically  in  our  examination 


SEA  J  AM/N  FRANKLIN.  233 

I  made  a  little  book,  in  which  I  allotted  a  page 
for  each  of  the  virtues.  I  rul'd  each  page  with  red 
ink,  so  as  to  have  seven  columns,  one  for  each  day 
of  the  week,  marking  each  column  with  a  letter  for 
the  day.  I  cross'd  these  columns  with  thirteen  red 
lines,  marking  the  beginning  of  each  line  with  the 
first  letter  of  one  of  the  virtues,  on  which  line,  and 
in  its  proper  column,  I  might  mark,  by  a  little  black 
spot,  every  fault  I  found  upon  examination  to  have 
been  committed  respecting  that  virtue  upon  that 
day.* 


from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  leaving  nothing  out  in  the  middle,  which 
is  implied  by  the  word,  runover.  For  oftentimes  change  of  order  deceives 
the  judgment,  and  makes  us  favorable  to  our  ill  actions  through  dis- 
order of  memory.  Besides,  a  daily  recollection  of  our  actions  begets 
care  and  studiousness  of  conversation,  and  a  sense  of  our  immortality. 
And  this  is  worth  our  admiration,  that  when  he  bid  us  recollect  every- 
thing, yet  he  added  not,  Wherein  have  I  done  well  ?  or  what  duty  have 
I  perform'd  ?  But  he  turn'd  the  memory  to  what  was  a  less  occasion  of 
pride,  requiring  a  scrutiny  only  of  our  sins.  And  as  for  the  judge,  he 
has  constituted  that  which  is  most  just  and  impartial,  and  most  intimate 
and  domestick,  the  conscience,  right  reason,  or  a  man's  self,  which  he 
had  before  caution'd  us  to  stand  in  awe  of  above  all  things.  For 
who  can  so  admonish  another  as  every  man  can  himself  ?  For  he 
that  is  at  his  own  liberty  will  use  the  freedom  of  nature,  and  shake  off 
the  admonitions  of  others,  when  he  is  not  minded  to  follow  them.  But 
reason,  which  is  within  us,  cannot  chuse  but  hear  itself  God  has  set 
this  over  us  as  a  guardian,  instructor  and  schoolmaster.  And  this  the 
verse  makes  the  judge  of  the  day's  action,  acquiesces  in  its  determina- 
tion whether  it  condemns  or  approves  itself.  For  when  it  reads  over 
what  is  done  in  the  register  of  memory,  then,  looking  to  the  exemplar  of 
the  law,  it  pronounces  itself  worthy  of  honor  or  dishonor.  This  course, 
if  daily  follow'd,  perfects  the  divine  image  in  them  that  use  it,  leading 
them  by  additions  and  subtractions  to  the  beauty  of  virtue,  and  all  attain- 
able perfection.  For  here  end  the  instructions  about  civil  virtue."— Ed. 
*  This  "little  book"  is  dated  1st  of  July,  1733.— W.  T.  F. 
20* 


^34 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 


Form  of  the  pages. 


TEMPERANCE. 

EAT   NOT  TO   DULNESS  J 
DRINK  NOT  TO  ELEVATION. 

S. 

M. 

T. 

W. 

T. 

F. 

S. 

T. 

S. 

* 

* 

* 

* 

o. 

*  * 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

R. 

* 

* 

F. 

* 

* 

I. 

* 

S. 

J. 

M. 

C. 

T. 

C. 

H. 

I  determined  to  give  a  week's  strict  attention  to 
each  of  the  virtues  successively.  Thus,  in  the  first 
week,  my  great  guard  was  to  avoid  every  the  least 
offence  against  Temperance,  leaving  the  other  vir- 
tues to  their  ordinary  chance,  only  marking  every 
evening  the  faults  of  the  day.  Thus,  if  in  the  first 
week  I  could  keep  my  first  line,  marked  T,  clear  of 
spots,  I  suppos'd  the  habit  of  that  virtue  so  much 
strengthen'd,  and  its  opposite  weaken'd,  that  I  might 
venture  extending  my  attention  to  include  the  next, 
and  for  the  following  week  keep  both  lines  clear  of 
spots.  Proceeding  thus  to  the  last,  I  could  go 
thro'  a  course  compleat  in  thirteen  weeks,  and  four 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  235 

courses  in  a  year.  And  like  him  who,  having  a 
garden  to  weed,  does  not  attempt  to  eradicate  all 
the  bad  herbs  at  once,  which  would  exceed  his  reach 
and  his  strength,  but  works  on  one  of  the  beds  at  a 
time,  and,  having  accomplish'd  the  first,  proceeds  to 
a  second,  so  I  should  have,  I  hoped,  the  encourag- 
ing pleasure  of  seeing  on  my  pages  the  progress  I 
made  in  virtue,  by  clearing  successively  my  lines 
of  their  spots,  till  in  the  end,  by  a  number  of  courses, 
I  should  be  happy  in  viewing  a  clean  book,  after  a 
thirteen  weeks'  daily  examination. 

This  my  little  book  had  for  its  motto  these  lines 
from  Addison's  Cato  : 

J^ 

"  Here  will  I  hold.     If  there's  a  power  above  us 
(And  that  there  is,  all  nature  cries  aloud 
Thro'  all  her  works),  He  must  delight  in  virtue ; 
And  that  which  he  delights  in  must  be  happy." 

Another  from  Cicero, 

rt  O  vitae  Philosophia  dux  !  O  virtutum  indagatrix  expultrixque  vitio- 
rum  !  Unus  dies,  bene  et  ex  praeceptis  tuis  actus,  peccanti  immortalitati 
est  anteponendus." 

Another  from  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  speaking 
of  wisdom  or  virtue  : 

"  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand,  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and 
honour.  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 
peace."    iii.  16,  17. 

And  conceiving  God  to  be  the  fountain  of  wisdom, 
I  thought  it  right  and  necessary  to  solicit  his  assist- 
ance   for  obtaining  it ;    to  this    end    I    formed    the 


236 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 


following  little    prayer,  which  was    prefix'd  to  my 
tables  of  examination,  for  daily  use. 

"  O  powerful  Goodness  !  bountiful  Father !  merciful  Guide  !  Increase 
in  me  that  wisdom  which  discoz>ers  my  truest  interest.  Strengthen  my 
resolutions  to  perform  what  that  wisdom  dictates.  Accept  my  kind  offices 
to  thy  other  children  as  the  only  return  in  my  power  for  thy  continual 
favours  to  me." 

I  used  also  sometimes  a  little  prayer  which  I  took 
from  Thomson's  Poems,  viz.  : 

"  Father  of  light  and  life,  thou  Good  Supreme  ! 
O  teach  me  what  is  good  ;  teach  me  Thyself ! 
Save  me  from  folly,  vanity,  and  vice, 
From  every  low  pursuit ;  and  fill  my  soul 
With  knowledge,  conscious  peace,  and  virtue  pure  ; 
Sacred,  substantial,  never-fading  bliss  !" 

The  precept  of  Order  requiring  that  every  -part 
of  my  business  should  have  its  allotted  time,  one 
page  in  my  little  book  contain'd  the  following 
scheme  of  employment  for  the  twenty-four  hours  of 
a  natural  day. 


The  Morning. 
Question.     What  good  shall  I 
do  this  day  ? 


Noon. 


Rise,  wash,  and  address  Pow- 
erful Goodness  !  Contrive  day's 
business,  and  take  the  resolution 
of  the  day ;  prosecute  the  pre- 
sent study,  and  breakfast 

\  Work. 


n 


Read,   or    overlook 
counts,  and  dine. 


Work. 


my    ac- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


m 


Evening. 
Question.     What  good  have  I 
done  to-day  ? 


Night. 


6 

7 

8 

9 
io 
n 

12 
2 

3 

I   4j 


Put  things  in  their  places. 
Supper.  Music  or  diversion, 
or  conversation.  Examination 
of  the  day. 


Sleep. 


I  enter'd  upon  the  execution  of  this  plan  for  se 
examination,  and  continu'd  it  with  occasional  inter- 
missions for  some  time.  I  was  surpris'd  to  find 
myself  so  much  fuller  of  faults  than  I  had  imagined  ; 
but  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  diminish. 
To  avoid  the  trouble  of  renewing  now  and  then  my 
little  book,  which,  by  scraping  out  the  marks  on  the 
paper  of  old  faults  to  make  room  for  new  ones  in  a 
new  course,  became  full  of  holes,  I  transferr'd  my 
tables  and  precepts  to  the  ivory  leaves  of  a  memo- 
randum book,  on  which  the  lines  were  drawn  with 
red  ink,  that  made  a  durable  stain,  and  on  those 
lines,  I  mark'd  my  faults  with  a  black-lead  pencil, 
which  marks  I  could  easily  wipe  out  with  a  wet 
sponge.  After  a  while  I  went  thro'  one  course  only 
in  a  year,  and  afterward  only  one  in  several  years, 
till  at  length  I  omitted  them  entirely,  being  employed 
in  voyages  and  business  abroad,  with  a  multiplicity 
of  affairs  that  interfered ;  but  I  always  carried  my 
little  book  with  me. 

My  scheme  of  Order  gave  me  the  most  trouble ; 


238  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  I  found  that,  tho'  it  might  be  practicable  where 
a  man's  business  was  such  as  to  leave  him  the  dis- 
position of  his  time,  that  of  a  journeyman  printer, 
for  instance,  it  was  not  possible  to  be  exactly  ob- 
served by  a  master,  who  must  mix  with  the  world, 
and  often  receive  people  of  business  at  their  own 
hours.  Order,  too,  with  regard  to  places  for  things, 
papers,  etc.,  I  found  extreamly  difficult  to  acquire. 
I  had  not  been  early  accustomed  to  it,  and,  having 
an  exceeding  good  memory,  I  was  not  so  sensible 
of  the  inconvenience  attending  want  of  method. 
This  article,  therefore,  cost  me  so  much  painful  at- 
tention, and  my  faults  in  it  vexed  me  so  much,  and  I 
made  so  little  progress  in  amendment,  and  had  such 
frequent  relapses,  that  I  was  almost  ready  to  give 
up  the  attempt,  and  content  myself  with  a  faulty 
character  in  that  respect*  like  the  man  who,  in  buy- 
ing an  ax  of  a  smith,  my  neighbour,  desired  to  have 
the  whole  of  its  surface  as  bright  as  the  edge.  The 
smith  consented  to  grind  it  bright  for  him  if  he 
would  turn  the  wheel ;  he  turn'd,  while  the  smith 
press'd  the  broad  face  of  the  ax  hard  and  heavily 
on  the  stone,  which  made  the  turning  of  it  very 
fatiguing.  The  man  came  every  now  and  then 
from  the  wheel  to  see  how  the  work  went  on,  and 
at  length  would  take  his  ax  as  it  was,  without  far- 
ther grinding.  "No,"  said  the  smith,  "turn  on, 
turn  on  ;  we  shall  have  it  bright  by-and  by ;  as  yet, 
it  is  only  speckled."    "  Yes,"  says  the  man,  "  but  1 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  239 

think  I  like  a  speckled  ax  best"  And  I  believe  this 
may  have  been  the  case  with  many,  who,  having, 
for  want  of  some  such  means  as  I  employ'd,  found 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  good  and  breaking  bad 
habits  in  other  points  of  vice  and  virtue,  have  given 
up  the  struggle,  and  concluded  that  "a  speckled 
ax  was  best;"  for  something,  that  pretended  to  be 
reason,  was  every  now  and  then  suggesting  to  me 
that  such  extream  nicety  as  I  exacted  of  myself 
might  be  a  kind  of  foppery  in  morals,  which,  if  it 
were  known,  would  make  me  ridiculous ;  that  a 
perfect  character  might  be  attended  with  the  incon- 
venience of  being  envied  and  hated ;  and  that  a 
benevolent  man  should  allow  a  few  faults  in  himself, 
to  keep  his  friends  in  countenance. 

In  truth,  I  found  myself  incorrigible  with  respect 
to  Order;  and  now  I  am  grown  old,  and  my  me- 
mory bad,  I  feel  very  sensibly  the  want  of  it.  But, 
on  the  whole,  tho'  I  never  arrived  at  the  perfection 
I  had  been  so  ambitious  of  obtaining,  but  fell  far 
short  of  it,  yet  I  was,  by  the  endeavour,  a  better  and 
a  happier  man  than  I  otherwise  should  have  been 
if  I  had  not  attempted  it ;  as  those  who  aim  at  per- 
fect writing  by  imitating  the  engraved  copies,  tho' 
they  never  reach  the  wish'd-for  excellence  of  those 
copies,  their  hand  is  mended  by  the  endeavor,  and 
is  tolerable  while  it  continues  fair  and  legible. 

It  may  be  well  my  posterity  should  be  informed 
that  to  this  little  artifice,  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
their  ancestor  ow'd  the  constant  felicity  of  his  life, 


240  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

down  to  his  79th  year,*  in  which  this  is  written. 
What  reverses  may  attend  the  remainder  is  in  the 
hand  of  Providence ;  but,  if  they  arrive,  the  reflec- 
tion on  past  happiness  enjoy'd  ought  to  help  his 
bearing  them  with  more  resignation.  To  Tempe- 
rance he  ascribes  his  long-continued  health,  and 
what  is  still  left  to  him  of  a  good  constitution ;  to 
Industry  and  Frugality,  the  early  easiness  of  his 
circumstances  and  acquisition  of  his  fortune,  with  all 
that  knowledge  that  enabled  him  to  be  a  useful  citi- 
zen, and  obtained  for  him  some  degree  of  reputation 
among  the  learned  ;  to  Sincerity  and  Justice,  the 
confidence  of  his  country,  and  the  honorable  em- 
ploys it  conferred  upon  him  ;  and  to  the  joint  influ- 
ence of  the  whole  mass  of  the  virtues,  even  in  the 
imperfect  state  he  was  able  to  acquire  them,  all  that 
evenness  of  temper,  and  that  cheerfulness  in  con- 
versation, which  makes  his  company  still  sought 
for,  and  agreeable  even  to  his  younger  acquaint- 
ance. I  hope,  therefore,  that  some  of  my  descend- 
ants may  follow  the  example  and  reap  the  benefit. 

It  will  be  remark'd  that,  tho'  my  scheme  was  not 
wholly  without  religion,  there  was  in  it  no  mark  of 
any  of  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  any  particular 
sect.  I  had  purposely  avoided  them ;  for,  being 
fully  persuaded  of  the  utility  and  excellency  of  m) 
method,  and  that  it  might  be  serviceable  to  people 
in  all  religions,  and  intending  some  time  or  other  to 


*  This  was  written,  therefore,  in  1785,  the  year  the  Doctor  returned 
<rom  Paris.— Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  24 1 

publish  it,  I  would  not  have  any  thing  in  it  that 
should  prejudice  any  one,  of  any  sect,  against  it. 
I  purposed  writing  a  little  comment  on  each  virtue, 
in  which  I  would  have  shown  the  advantages  of 
possessing  it,  and  the  mischiefs  attending  its  oppo- 
site vice ;  and  I  should  have  called  my  book  The 
Art  of  Virtue,*  because  it  would  have  shown  the 
means  and  manner  of  obtaining  virtue,  which  would 
have  distinguished  it  from  the  mere  exhortation  to 
be  good,  that  does  not  instruct  and  indicate  the 
means,  but  is  like  the  apostle's  man  of  verbal 
charity,  who  only  without  showing  to  the  naked 
and  hungry  how  or  where  they  might  get  clothes  or 
victuals,  exhorted  them  to  be  fed  and  clothed. — 
James  ii.  15,  16. 

But  it  so  happened  that  my  intention  of  writing 
and  publishing  this  comment  was  never  fulfilled.  I 
did,  indeed,  from  time  to  time,  put  down  short  hints 
of  the  sentiments,  reasonings,  etc.,  to  be  made  use 
of  in  it,  some  of  which  I  have  still  by  me ;  but  the 
necessary  close  attention  to  private  business  in  the 
earlier  part  of  my  life,  and  public  business  since,  have 
occasioned  my  postponing  it  ;  for,  it  being  con- 
nected in  my  mind  with  a  great  and  extensive  pro- 
ject, that  required  the  whole  man  to  execute,  and 
which  an  unforeseen  succession  of  employs  pre- 
vented my  attending  to,  it  has  hitherto  remain'd 
unfinish'd. 


*  "Nothing  so  likely  to  make  a  man's  fortune  as  virtue.-  -Marg.  note. 
21  l 


242  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

In  this  piece  it  was  my  design  to  explain  and 
enforce  this  doctrine,  that  vicious  actions  are  not 
hurtful  because  they  are  forbidden,  but  forbidden 
because  they  are  hurtful,  the  nature  of  man  alone 
considered ;  that  it  was,  therefore,  every  one's  in- 
terest to  be  virtuous  who  wish'd  to  be  happy  even 
in  this  world;  and  I  should,  from  this  circumstance 
(there  being  always  in  the  world  a  number  of  rich 
merchants,  nobility,  states,  and  princes,  who  have 
need  of  honest  instruments  for  the  management  of 
their  affairs,  and  such  being  so  rare),  have  endea- 
vored to  convince  young  persons  that  no  qualities 
were  so  likely  to  make  a  poor  man's  fortune  as  those 
of  probity  and  integrity. 

My  list  of  virtues  contain'd  at  first  but  twelve ; 
but  a  Quaker  friend  having  kindly  informed  me  that 
I  was  generally  thought  proud ;  that  my  pride 
show'd  itself  frequently  in  conversation ;  that  I  was 
not  content  with  being  in  the  right  when  discussing 
any  point,  but  was  overbearing,  and  rather  insolent, 
of  which  he  convinc'd  me  by  mentioning  several 
instances  ;  I  determined  endeavouring  to  cure  myself, 
if  I  could,  of  this  vice  or  folly  among  the  rest,  and 
I  added  Humility  to  my  list,  giving  an  extensive 
meaning  to  the  word. 

I  cannot  boast  of  much  success  in  acquiring  the 
reality  of  this  virtue,  but  I  had  a  good  deal  with 
regard  to  the  abearance  of  it.  I  made  it  a  rule  to 
forbear  all  direct  contradiction  to  the  sentiments  of 
others,  and  all  positive  assertion  of  my  own.    I  even 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  243 

forbid  myself,  agreeably  to  the  old  laws  of  our 
Junto,  the  use  of  every  word  or  expression  in  the 
language  that  imported  a  fix'd  opinion,  such  as 
certainly,  undoubtedly,  etc.,  and  I  adopted,  instead 
of  them,  /  conceive,  I  apprehend,  or  /  imagine  a 
thing  to  be  so  or  so ;  or  it  so  appears  to  me  at  pre- 
sent. When  another  asserted  something  that  I 
thought  an  error,  I  deny'd  myself  the  pleasure  of 
contradicting  him  abruptly,  and  of  showing  imme- 
diately some  absurdity  in  his  proposition ;  and  in 
answering  I  began  by  observing  that  in  certain  cases 
or  circumstances  his  opinion  would  be  right,  but  in 
the  present  case  there  appeared  or  seemed  to  me 
some  difference,  etc.  I  soon  found  the  advantage 
of  this  change  in  my  manner ;  the  conversations  I 
engag'd  in  went  on  more  pleasantly.  The  modest 
way  in  which  I  propos'd  my  opinions  procur'd  them 
a  readier  reception  and  less  contradiction ;  I  Ijad 
less  mortification  when  I  was  found  to  be  in  the 
wrong,  and  I  more  easily  prevail'd  with  others  to 
give  up  their  mistakes  and  join  with  me  when  I 
happened  to  be  in  the  right. 

And  this  mode,  which  I  at  first  put  on  with  some 
violence  to  natural  inclination,  became  at  length  so 
easy,  and  so  habitual  to  me,  that  perhaps  for  these 
fifty  years  past  no  one  has  ever  heard  a  dogmatical 
expression  escape  me.  And  to  this  habit  (after  my 
character  of  integrity)  I  think  it  principally  owing 
that  I  had  early  so  much  weight  with  my  fellow- 
citizens  when  I  proposed  new  institutions,  or  altera- 


244  *     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

tions  in  the  old,  and  so  much  influence  in  public 
councils  when  I  became  a  member ;  for  I  was  but  a 
bad  speaker,  never  eloquent,  subject  to  much  hesi- 
tation in  my  choice  of  words,  hardly  correct  in  lan- 
guage, and  yet  I  generally  carried  my  points. 

In  reality,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  one  of  our  natural 
passions  so  hard  to  subdue  as  -pride.  Disguise  it, 
struggle  with  it,  beat  it  down,  stifle  it,  mortify  it  as 
much  as  one  pleases,  it  is  still  alive,  and  will  every 
now  and  then  peep  out  and  show  itself;  you  will  see 
it,  perhaps,  often  in  this  history  ;  for,  even  if  I  could 
conceive  that  I  had  compleatly  overcome  it,  I  should 
probably  be  proud  of  my  humility. 

rThus  far  written  at  Passy,  1784.] 


[*'  /  am   now  about   to  write   at  home,   August, 

1788,  but  can  not  have  the  help  expected  from 
my  papers,  ?nany  of  them  being  lost  in  the  war. 
I  have,  however,  found  the  following ."]  * 

HAVING  mentioned  a  great  and  extensive 
project  which  I  had  conceiv'd,  it  seems  pro- 
per that  some  account  should  be  here  given  of  that 
project  and  its  object.  Its  first  rise  in  my  mind  ap- 
pears in  the  following  little  paper,  accidentally  pre- 
served, viz.  : 

Observations  on  my  reading  history,  in  Library, 
May  19th,  1 73 1. 

44  That  the  great  affairs  of  the  world,  the  wars, 
revolutions,  etc.,  are  carried  on  and  effected  by 
parties. 


*  This  is  a  marginal  memorandum.— Ed. 
21*  245 


246  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

81  That  the  view  of  these  parties  is  their  present 
general  interest,  or  what  they  take  to  be  such. 

"That  the  different  views  of  these  different  par 
ties  occasion  all  confusion. 

"That  while  a  party  is  carrying  on  a  general 
design,  each  man  has  his  particular  private  interest 
in  view. 

88  That  as  soon  as  a  party  has  gain'd  its  general 
point,  each  member  becomes  intent  upon  his  par- 
ticular interest;  which,  thwarting  others,  breaks 
that  party  into  divisions,  and  occasions  more  con- 
fusion. 

88  That  few  in  public  affairs  act  from  a  meer  view 
of  the  good  of  their  country,  whatever  they  may 
pretend ;  and,  tho'  their  actings  bring  real  good  to 
their  country,  yet  men  primarily  considered  that 
their  own  and  their  country's  interest  was  united, 
and  did  not  act  from  a  principle  of  benevolence. 

"That  fewer  still,  in  public  affairs,  act  with  a 
view  to  the  good  of  mankind. 

81  There  seems  to  me  at  present  to  be  great  occa- 
sion for  raising  a  United  Party  for  Virtue,  by  form- 
ing the  virtuous  and  good  men  of  all  nations  into  a 
regular  body,  to  be  govern'd  by  suitable  good  and 
wise  rules,  which  good  and  wise  men  may  probably 
be  more  unanimous  in  their  obedience  to,  than  com- 
mon people  are  to  common  laws. 

"I  at  present  think  that  whoever  attempts  this 
aright,  and  is  well  qualified,  can  not  fail  of  pleasing 
God,  and  of  meeting  with  success.  B.  F." 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  247 

Revolving  this  project  in  my  mind,  as  to  be  under- 
taken hereafter,  when  my  circumstances  should 
afford  me  the  necessary  leisure,  I  put  down  from 
time  to  time,  on  pieces  of  paper,  such  thoughts  as 
occurr'd  to  me  respecting  it.  Most  of  these  are 
lost ;  but  I  find  one  purporting  to  be  the  substance 
of  an  intended  creed,  containing,  as  I  thought,  the 
essentials  of  every  known  religion,  and  being  free 
of  every  thing  that  might  shock  the  professors  of 
any  religion.     It  is  express'd  in  these  words,  viz.  : 

"  That  there  is  one  God,  who  made  all  things. 

"  That  he  governs  the  world  by  his  providence. 

"  That  he  ought  to  be  worshiped  by  adoration, 
prayer,  and  thanksgiving. 

"  But  that  the  most  acceptable  service  of  God  is 
doing  good  to  man. 

"  That  the  soul  is  immortal. 

"  And  that  God  will  certainly  reward  virtue  and 
punish  vice,  either  here  or  hereafter."* 

My  ideas  at  that  time  were,  that  the  sect  should 
be  begun  and  spread  at  first  among  young  and  single 
men  only ;  that  each  person  to  be  initiated  should 
not  only  declare  his  assent  to  such  creed,  but  should 
have  exercised  himself  with  the  thirteen  weeks'  ex- 
amination and  practice  of  the  virtues,  as  in  the  be- 
fore-mention'd  model ;  that  the  existence  of  such  a 
society  should  be  kept  a  secret,  till  it  was  become 


*  In  the  Middle  Ages,  Franklin,  if  such  a  phenomenon  as  Franklin 
were  possible  in  the  Middle  Ages,  would  probably  have  been  the  founder 
of  a  monastic  order. — Ed. 


248  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

considerable,  to  prevent  solicitations  for  the  admis- 
sion of  improper  persons,  but  that  the  members 
should  each  of  them  search  among  his  acquaintance 
for  ingenuous,  well-disposed  youths,  to  whom,  with 
prudent  caution,  the  scheme  should  be  gradually 
communicated  ;  that  the  members  should  engage  to 
afford  their  advice,  assistance,  and  support  to  each 
other  in  promoting  one  another's  interests,  business, 
and  advancement  in  life ;  that,  for  distinction,  we 
should  be  call'd  The  Society  of  the  Free  and  Easy : 
free,  as  being,  by  the  general  practice  and  habit 
of  the  virtues,  free  from  the  dominion  of  vice ;  and 
particularly  by  the  practice  of  industry  and  frugality, 
free  from  debt,  which  exposes  a  man  to  confinement, 
and  a  species  of  slavery  to  his  creditors. 

This  is  as  much  as  I  can  now  recollect  of  the 
project,  except  that  I  communicated  it  in  part  to  two 
young  men,  who  adopted  it  with  some  enthusiasm  ; 
but  my  then  narrow  circumstances,  and  the  neces- 
sity I  was  under  of  sticking  close  to  my  business, 
occasion'd  my  postponing  the  further  prosecution 
of  it  at  that  time  ;  and  my  multifarious  occupations, 
public  and  private,  induc'd  me  to  continue  postpon- 
ing, so  that  it  has  been  omitted  till  I  have  no  longer 
strength  or  activity  left  sufficient  for  such  an  enter 
prise ;  tho'  I  am  still  of  opinion  that  it  was  a  practi- 
cable scheme,  and  might  have  been  very  useful,  by 
forming  a  great  number  of  good  citizens ;  and  I  was 
not  discourag'd  by  the  seeming  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking,   as  I   have    always  thought  that  one 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  249 

man  of  tolerable  abilities  may  work  great  changes, 
and  accomplish  great  affairs  among  mankind,  if  he 
first  forms  a  good  plan,  and,  cutting  off  all  amuse- 
ments or  other  employments  that  would  divert  his 
atteution,  makes  the  execution  of  that  same  plan  his 
sole  study  and  business. 

In  1732  I  first  publish'd  my  Almanack,  under  the 
name  of  Richard  Saunders;  it  was  continu'd  by 
me  about  twenty-five  years,  commonly  call'd  Poor 
RicharoVs  Almanac.  I  endeavor'd  to  make  it  both 
entertaining  and  useful,  and  it  accordingly  came  to 
be  in  such  demand,  that  I  reap'd  considerable  profit 
from  it,  vending  annually  near  ten  thousand.*  And 
observing  that  it  was  generally  read,   scarce  any 


*  The  advertisement  to  the  first  number  of  this  the  most  celebrated 
of  Almanacs  was  printed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  on  the  19th  of 
December,  1732.  Though  appearing  thus  late  in  the  season,  three 
editions  of  No.  1  were  sold  before  the  end  of  January.  The  advertise- 
ment ran  as  follows  : 

"Just  published,  for  1733,  An  Almanack,  containing  the  Lunations, 
Eclipses,  Planets'  Motions  and  Aspects,  Weather,  Sun  and  Moon's 
Rising  and  Setting,  High  Water,  etc.  ;  besides  many  pleasant  and  witty 
Verses,  Jests,  and  Sayings  ;  Author's  Motive  of  Writing;  Prediction  of 
the  Death  of  his  Friend,  Mr.  Titan  Leeds  ;  Moon  no  Cukold ;  Bache- 
lor's Folly  ;  Parson's  Wine  and  Baker's  Pudding  ;  Short  Visits  ;  Kings 
and  Bears  ;  New  Fashions  ;  Game  for  Kisses  ;  Katherine's  Love  ;  Dif- 
ferent Sentiments  ;  Signs  of  a  Tempest ;  Death  of  a  Fisherman ;  Con- 
jugal Debate;  Men  and  Melons;  The  Prodigal;  Breakfast  in  Bed; 
Oyster  Law-suit,  etc.  By  Richard  Saunders,  Philomat.  Printed  and 
Sold  by  B.  Franklin." 

For  a  more  full  and  detailed  account  of  this  most  famous  of  Alma- 
nacs, and  for  an  explanation  of  the  unique  position  which  it  acquired 
in  the  literature  of  the  world,  see  infra,  Chap.  VII.,  p.  572. — Ed. 


250  AUTOBIOGRAPHIC  OF 

neighborhood  in  the  province  being  without  it,  I 
consider'd  it  as  a  proper  vehicle  for  conveying  in- 
struction among  the  common  people,  who  bought 
scarcely  any  other  books ;  I  therefore  filled  all  the 
little  spaces  that  occurr'd  between  the  remarkable 
days  in  the  calendar  with  proverbial  sentences, 
chiefly  such  as  inculcated  industry  and  frugality,  as 
the  means  of  procuring  wealth,  and  thereby  securing 
virtue ;  it  being  more  difficult  for  a  man  in  want,  to 
act  always  honestly,  as,  to  use  here  one  of  those 
proverbs,  it  is  hard  for  an  entity  sack  to  stand  up- 
right. 

These  proverbs,  which  contained  the  wisdom  of 
many  ages  and  nations,  I  assembled  and  form'd  into 
a  connected  discourse  prefix'd  to  the  Almanack  of 
1757,  as  the  harangue  of  a  wise  old  man  to  the 
people  attending  an  auction.  The  bringing  all 
these  scatter'd  counsels  thus  into  a  focus  enabled 
them  to  make  greater  impression.  The  piece,  being 
universally  approved,  was  copied  in  all  the  news- 
papers of  the  Continent ;  reprinted  in  Britain  on  a 
broad  side,  to  be  stuck  up  in  houses ;  two  transla- 
tions were  made  of  it  in  French,  and  great  numbers 
bought  by  the  clergy  and  gentry,  to  distribute  gratis 
among  their  poor  parishioners  and  tenants.  In 
Pennsylvania,  as  it  discouraged  useless  expense  in 
foreign  superfluities,  some  thought  it  had  its  share 
of  influence  in  producing  that  growing  plenty  of 
money  which  was  observable  for  several  years  after 
its  publication. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  25  I 

I  considered  my  newspaper,  also,  as  another 
means  of  communicating  instruction,  and  in  that 
view  frequently  reprinted  in  it  extracts  from  the 
Spectator,  and  other  moral  writers ;  and  sometimes 
published  little  pieces  of  my  own,  which  had  been 
first  compos'd  for  reading  in  our  Junto.  Of  these 
are  a  Socratic  dialogue,  tending  to  prove  that,  what- 
ever might  be  his  parts  and  abilities,  a  vicious  man 
could  not  properly  be  called  a  man  of  sense ;  and  a 
discourse  on  self-denial,  showing  that  virtue  was 
not  secure  till  its  practice  became  a  habitude,  and 
was  free  from  the  opposition  of  contrary  inclinations. 
These  may  be  found  in  the  papers  about  the  begin- 
ning of  1735. 

In  the  conduct  of  my  newspaper,  I  carefully  ex- 
cluded all  libelling  and  personal  abuse,  which  is  of 
late  years  become  so  disgraceful  to  our  country. 
Whenever  I  was  solicited  to  insert  any  thing  of  that 
kind,  and  the  writers  pleaded,  as  they  generally  did, 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  that  a  newspaper  was 
like  a  stage-coach,  in  which  any  one  who  would  pay 
had  a  right  to  a  place,  my  answer  was,  that  I  would 
print  the  piece  separately  if  desired,  and  the  author 
might  have  as  many  copies  as  he  pleased  to  distri- 
bute himself,  but  that  I  would  not  take  upon  me  to 
spread  his  detraction ;  and  that,  having  contracted 
with  my  subscribers  to  furnish  them  with  what  might 
be  either  useful  or  entertaining,  I  could  not  fill  their 
papers  with  private  altercation,  in  which  they  had 
no  concern,  without  doing  them  manifest  injustice 


252  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Now,  many  of  our  printers  make  no  scruple  of  grati- 
fying the  malice  of  individuals  by  false  accusations 
of  the  fairest  characters  among  ourselves,  augment- 
ing animosity  even  to  the  producing  of  duels ;  and 
are,  moreover,  so  indiscreet  as  to  print  scurrilous 
reflections  on  the  government  of  neighboring  states, 
and  even  on  the  conduct  of  our  best  national  allies, 
which  may  be  attended  with  the  most  pernicious 
consequences.  These  things  I  mention  as  a  caution 
to  young  printers,  and  that  they  may  be  encouraged 
not  to  pollute  their  presses  and  disgrace  their  pro- 
fession by  such  infamous  practices,  but  refuse  stead- 
ily, as  they  may  see  by  my  example  that  such  a 
course  of  conduct  will  not,  on  the  whole,  be  injurious 
to  their  interests. 

In  1733  I  sent  one  of  my  journeymen  to  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  where  a  printer  was  wanting. 
I  furnish'd  him  with  a  press  and  letters,  on  an  agree- 
ment of  partnership,  by  which  I  was  to  receive  one- 
third  of  the  profits  of  the  business,  paying  one-third 
of  the  expense.  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  and 
honest  but  ignorant  in  matters  of  account ;  and,  tho' 
he  sometimes  made  me  remittances,  I  could  get  no 
account  from  him,  nor  any  satisfactory  state  of  our 
partnership  while  he  lived.  On  his  decease,  the 
business  was  continued  by  his  widow,  who,  being 
born  and  bred  in  Holland,  where,  as  I  have  been 
inform'd,  the  knowledge  of  accounts  makes  a  part 
of  female  education,  she  not  only  sent  me  as  clear  a 
state  as  she  could  find  of  the  transactions  past,  bu 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2$$ 

continued  to  account  with  the  greatest  regularity 
and  exactness  every  quarter  afterwards,  and  managed 
the  business  with  such  success,  that  she  not  only 
brought  up  reputably  a  family  of  children,  but,  at 
the  expiration  of  the  term,  was  able  to  purchase  of 
me  the  printing-house,  and  establish  her  son  in  it. 

I  mention  this  affair  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  recom- 
mending that  branch  of  education  for  our  young 
females,  as  likely  to  be  of  more  use  to  them  and 
their  children,  in  case  of  widowhood,  than  either 
music  or  dancing,  by  preserving  them  from  losses 
by  imposition  of  crafty  men,  and  enabling  them  to 
continue,  perhaps,  a  profitable  mercantile  house, 
with  establish'd  correspondence,  till  a  son  is  grown 
up  fit  to  undertake  and  go  on  with  it,  to  the  lasting 
advantage  and  enriching  of  the  family. 

About  the  year  1734  there  arrived  among  us  from 
Ireland  a  young  Presbyterian  preacher,  named 
Hemphill,  who  delivered  with  a  good  voice,  and 
apparently  extempore,  most  excellent  discourses, 
which  drew  together  considerable  numbers  of  dif- 
ferent persuasions,  who  join'd  in  admiring  them. 
Among  the  rest,  I  became  one  of  his  constant 
hearers,  his  sermons  pleasing  me,  as  they  had  little 
of  the  dogmatical  kind,  but  inculcated  strongly  the 
practice  of  virtue,  or  what  in  the  religious  stile  are 
called  good  works.  Those,  however,  of  our  con- 
gregation, who  considered  themselves  as  orthodox 
Presbyterians,   disapprov'd   his  doctrine,   and  were 

join'd  by  most  of  the  old  clergy,   who    arraign'd 

22 


254  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

him  of  heterodoxy  before  the  synod,  in  order  to 
have  him  silenc'd.  I  became  his  zealous  partisan, 
and  contributed  all  I  could  to  raise  a  party  in  his 
favour,  and  we  combated  for  him  a  while  with  some 
hopes  of  success.  There  was  much  scribbling  pro 
and  con  upon  the  occasion ;  and  finding  that,  tho' 
an  elegant  preacher,  he  was  but  a  poor  writer,  T 
lent  him  my  pen  and  wrote  for  him  two  or  three 
pamphlets,  and  one  piece  in  the  Gazette  of  April, 
1735.  Those  pamphlets,  as  is  generally  the  case 
with  controversial  writings,  tho'  eagerly  read  at  the 
time,  were  soon  out  of  vogue,  and  I  question  whe- 
ther a  single  copy  of  them  now  exists. 

During  the  contest  an  unlucky  occurrence  hurt 
his  cause  exceedingly.  One  of  our  adversaries 
having  heard  him  preach  a  sermon  that  was  much 
admired,  thought  he  had  somewhere  read  the  sermon 
before,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it.  On  search,  he  found 
that  part  quoted  at  length,  in  one  of  the  British 
Reviews,  from  a  discourse  of  Dr.  Foster's.  This 
detection  gave  many  of  our  party  disgust,  who 
accordingly  abandoned  his  cause,  and  occasion'd 
our  more  speedy  discomfiture  in  the  synod.  I  stuck 
by  him,  however,  as  I  rather  appro  v'd  his  giving  us 
good  sermons  compos'd  by  others,  than  bad  ones  of 
his  own  manufacture,  tho'  the  latter  was  the  practice 
of  our  common  teachers.  He  afterward  acknow- 
ledge to  me  that  none  of  those  he  preach'd  were  his 
own ;  adding,  that  his  memory  was  such  as  enabled 
him  to  retain  and  repeat  any  sermon  after  one  read- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  255 

ing  only.  On  our  defeat,  he  left  us  in  search  else- 
where of  better  fortune,  and  I  quitted  the  congrega- 
tion, never  joining  it  after,  tho'  I  continu'd  many 
years  my  subscription  for  the  support  of  its  min- 
isters. 

I  had  begun  in  1733  to  study  languages;  I  soon 
made  myself  so  much  a  master  of  the  French  as  to 
be  able  to  read  the  books  with  ease.  I  then  under- 
took the  Italian.  An  acquaintance,  who  was  also 
learning  it,  us'd  often  to  tempt  me  to  play  chess  with 
him.  Finding  this  took  up  too  much  of  the  time  I 
had  to  spare  for  study,  I  at  length  refus'd  to  play 
any  more,  unless  on  this  condition,  that  the  victor 
in  every  game  should  have  a  right  to  impose  a  task, 
either  in  parts  of  the  grammar  to  be  got  by  heart, 
or  in  translations,  etc.,  which  tasks  the  vanquished 
was  to  perform  upon  honour,  before  our  next  meet- 
ing. As  we  play'd  pretty  equally,  we  thus  beat  one 
another  into  that  language.  I  afterwards  with  a 
little  painstaking,  acquir'd  as  much  of  the  Spanish 
as  to  read  their  books  also. 

I  have  already  mention'd  that  I  had  only  one 
year's  instruction  in  a  Latin  school,  and  that  when 
very  young,  after  which  I  neglected  that  language 
entirely.  But,  when  I  had  attained  an  acquaintance 
with  the  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish,  I  was  sur- 
priz'd  to  find,  on  looking  over  a  Latin  Testament, 
that  I  understood  so  much  more  of  that  language 
than  I  had  imagined,  which  encouraged  me  to  apply 
myself  again  to  the  study  of  it,  and  I  met  with  more 


256  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

success,  as  those  preceding  languages  had  greatly 
smooth'd  my  way. 

From  these  circumstances,  I  have  thought  that 
there  is  some  inconsistency  in  our  common  mode  of 
teaching  languages.  We  are  told  that  it  is  proper 
to  begin  first  with  the  Latin,  and,  having  acquir'd 
that,  it  will  be  more  easy  to  attain  those  modern 
languages  which  are  deriv'd  from  it ;  and  yet  we  do 
not  begin  with  the  Greek,  in  order  more  easily  to 
acquire  the  Latin.  It  is  true  that,  if  you  can  clamber 
and  get  to  the  top  of  a  staircase  without  using  the 
steps,  you  will  more  easily  gain  them  in  descending  ; 
but  certainly,  if  you  begin  with  the  lowest  you  will 
with  more  ease  ascend  to  the  top ;  and  I  would 
therefore  offer  it  to  the  consideration  of  those  who 
superintend  the  education  of  our  youth,  whether, 
since  many  of  those  who  begin  with  the  Latin  quit 
the  same  after  spending  some  years  without  hav- 
ing made  any  great  proficiency,  and  what  they 
have  learnt  becomes  almost  useless,  so  that  their 
time  has  been  lost,  it  would  not  have  been  better 
to  have  begun  with  the  French,  proceeding  to  the 
Italian,  etc. ;  for,  tho',  after  spending  the  same  time, 
they  should  quit  the  study  of  languages  and  never 
arrive  at  the  Latin,  they  would,  however,  have 
acquired  another  tongue  or  two,  that,  being  in 
modern  use,  might  be  serviceable  to  them  in  com- 
mon life.* 


*  It  may  be  doubted  whether  any  thing  more  wise  than  this  has  been 
written  upon  the  much-vexed  question  ^o  which  it  relates.      The  au- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2$J 

After  ten  years'  absence  from  Boston,  and  having 
become  easy  in  my  circumstances,  I  made  a  journey 
thither  to  visit  my  relations,  which  I  could  not  sooner 
well  afford.  In  returning,  I  call'd  at  Newport  to 
see  my  brother,  then  settled  there  with  his  printing- 
house.  Our  former  differences  were  forgotten,  and 
our  meeting  was  very  cordial  and  affectionate.  He 
was  fast  declining  in  his  health,  and  requested  of  me 
that,  in  case  of  his  death,  which  he  apprehended 
not  far  distant,  I  would  take  home  his  son,  then  but 


thority  of  Franklin,  the  most  eminently  practical  man  of  his  age,  in  favor 
of  reserving  the  study  of  the  dead  languages  until  the  mind  has  reached 
a  certain  maturity,  is  confirmed  by  the  confession  of  one  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars  of  any  age. 

"  Our  seminaries  of  learning,"  says  Gibbon,  "  do  not  exactly  correspond 
with  the  precept  of  a  Spartan  king, '  that  the  child  should  be  instructed  in 
the  art*  which  will  be  useful  to  the  man ;'  since  a  finished  scholar  may 
emerge  from  the  head  of  Westminster  or  Eton,  in  total  ignorance  of  the 
business  and  conversation  of  English  gentlemen  in  the  latter  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  But  these  schools  may  assume  the  merit  of 
teaching  all  that  they  pretend  to  teach,  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  : 
they  deposit  in  the  hands  of  a  disciple  the  keys  of  two  valuable  chests ; 
nor  can  he  complain,  if  they  are  afterwards  lost  or  neglected  by  his 
own  fault.  The  necessity  of  leading  in  equal  ranks  so  many  unequal 
powers  of  capacity  and  application,  will  prolong  to  eight  or  ten  years 
the  juvenile  studies,  which  might  be  despatched  in  half  that  time  by  the 
skilful  master  of  a  single  pupil.  Yet  even  the  repetition  of  exercise 
and  discipline  contributes  to  fix  in  a  vacant  mind  the  verbal  science  of 
grammar  and  prosody :  and  the  private  or  voluntary  student,  who 
possesses  the  sense  and  spirit  of  the  classics,  may  offend,  by  a  false 
quantity,  the  scrupulous  ear  of  a  well-flogged  critic.  For  myself,  I  must 
be  content  with  a  very  small  share  of  the  civil  and  literary  fruits  of  a 
public  school.  In  the  space  of  two  years  (1749,  1750),  interrupted  by 
danger  and  debility,  I  painfully  climbed  into  the  third  form ;  and  my 
riper  age  was  left  to  acquire  the  beauties  of  the  Latin  and  the  rudiments 
of  the  Greek  tongue." — Ed. 
22* 


258  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ten  years  of  age,  and  bring  him  up  to  the  printing 
business.  This  I  accordingly  perform'd,  sending 
him  a  few  years  to  school  before  I  took  him  into  the 
office.  His  mother  carried  on  the  business  till  he 
was  grown  up,  when  I  assisted  him  with  an  assort- 
ment of  new  types,  those  of  his  father  being  in  a 
manner  worn  out.  Thus  it  was  that  I  made  my 
brother  ample  amends  for  the  service  I  had  depriv'd 
him  of  by  leaving  him  so  early. 

In  1736  I  lost  one  of  my  sons,  a  fine  boy  of  four 
years  old,  by  the  small-pox,  taken  in  the  common 
way.  I  long  regretted  bitterly,  and  still  regret 
that  I  had  not  given  it  to  him  by  inoculation.  This 
I  mention  for  the  sake  of  parents  who  omit  that 
operation,  on  the  supposition  that  they  should  never 
forgive  themselves  if  a  child  died  under  it ;  my  ex- 
ample showing  that  the  regret  may  be  the  same 
either  way,  and  that,  therefore,  the  safer  should  be 
chosen. 

Our  club,  the  Junto,  was  found  so  useful,  and 
afforded  such  satisfaction  to  the  members,  that  se- 
veral were  desirous  of  introducing  their  friends, 
which  could  not  well  be  done  without  exceeding 
what  we  had  settled  as  a  convenient  number,  viz., 
twelve.  We  had  from  the  beginning  made  it  a  rule 
to  keep  our  institution  a  secret,  which  was  pretty 
well  observ'd ;  the  intention  was  to  avoid  applica- 
tions of  improper  persons  for  admittance,  some  of 
whom,  perhaps,  we  might  find  it  difficult  to  refuse. 
I  was  one  of  those  who  were  against  any  addition 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  259 

to  our  number,  but,  instead  of  it,  made  in  writing  a 
proposal,  that  every  member  separately  should  en- 
deavor to  form  a  subordinate  club,  with  the  same 
rules  respecting  queries,  etc.,  and  without  informing 
them  of  the  connection  with  the  Junto.  The  advan- 
tages proposed  were,  the  improvement  of  so  many 
more  young  citizens  by  the  use  of  our  institutions ; 
our  better  acquaintance  with  the  general  sentiments 
of  the  inhabitants  on  any  occasion,  as  the  Junto 
member  might  propose  what  queries  we  should  de- 
sire, and  was  to  report  to  the  Junto  what  pass'd  in 
his  separate  club ;  the  promotion  of  our  particular 
interests  in  business  by  more  extensive  recommen- 
dation, and  the  increase  of  our  influence  in  public 
affairs,  and  our  power  of  doing  good  by  spreading 
thro*  the  several  clubs  the  sentiments  of  the  Junto. 

The  project  was  approv'd,  and  every  member 
undertook  to  form  his  club,  but  they  did  not  all  suc- 
ceed. Five  or  six  only  were  compleated,  which 
were  called  by  different  names,  as  the  Vine,  the 
Union,  the  Band,  etc.  They  were  useful  to  them- 
selves, and  afforded  us  a  good  deal  of  amusement, 
information,  and  instruction,  besides  answering,  in 
some  considerable  degree,  our  views  of  influencing 
the  public  opinion  on  particular  occasions,  of  which 
I  shall  give  some  instances  in  course  of  time  as 
they  happened. 

My  first  promotion  was  my  being  chosen,  in  1736, 
clerk  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  choice  was 
made  that  year  without  opposition ;  but  the   year 


260  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

following,  when  I  was  again  propos'd  (the  choice, 
like  that  of  the  members,  being  annual),  a  new 
member  made  a  long  speech  against  me,  in  order  to 
favour  some  other  candidate.  I  was,  however, 
chosen,  which  was  the  more  agreeable  to  me,  as, 
besides  the  pay  for  the  immediate  service  as  clerk, 
the  place  gave  me  a  better  opportunity  of  keeping 
up  an  interest  among  the  members,  which  secur'd 
to  me  the  business  of  printing  the  votes,  laws,  paper 
money,  and  other  occasional  jobbs  for  the  public, 
that,  on  the  whole,  were  very  profitable. 

I  therefore  did  not  like  the  opposition  of  this  new 
member,  who  was  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  edu- 
cation, with  talents  that  were  likely  to  give  him,  in 
time,  great  influence  in  the  House,  which,  indeed, 
afterwards  happened.  I  did  not,  however,  aim  at 
gaining  his  favour  by  paying  any  servile  respect  to 
him,  but,  after  some  time,  took  this  other  method. 
Having  heard  that  he  had  in  his  library  a  certain 
very  scarce  and  curious  book,  I  wrote  a  note  to  him, 
expressing  my  desire  of  perusing  that  book,  and 
requesting  he  would  do  me  the  favour  of  lending 
it  to  me  for  a  few  days.  He  sent  it  immediately, 
and  I  return'd  it  in  about  a  week  with  another  note, 
expressing  strongly  my  sense  of  the  favour.  When 
we  next  met  in  the  House,  he  spoke  to  me  (which 
he  had  never  done  before),  and  with  great  civility ; 
and  he  ever  after  manifested  a  readiness  to  serve 
tne  on  all  occasions,  so  that  we  became  great 
friends,  and  our  friendship  continued  to  his  death. 


HEN  J  AM  IN  FRANKLIN.  26 1 

This  is  another  instance  of  the  truth  of  an  old  maxim 
I  had  learned,  which  says,  ilHe  that  has  once  done 
you  a  kindness  will  be  more  ready  to  do  you  an-  \ 
other )  than  he  whom  you  yourself  have  obliged" 
And  it  shows  how  much  more  profitable  it  is  pru- 
dently to  remove,  than  to  resent,  return,  and  con- 
tinue inimical  proceedings. 

In  1737,  Colonel  Spotswood,  late  governor  of 
Virginia,  and  then  postmaster-general,  being  dis- 
satisfied with  the  conduct  of  his  deputy  at  Philadel- 
phia, respecting  some  negligence  in  rendering,  and 
inexactitude  of  his  accounts,  took  from  him  the 
commission  and  offered  it  to  me.  I  accepted  it 
readily,  and  found  it  of  great  advantage;  for,  tho' 
the  salary  was  small,  it  facilitated  the  correspond- 
ence that  improv'd  my  newspaper,  increas'd  the 
number  demanded,  as  well  as  the  advertisements  to 
be  inserted,  so  that  it  came  to  afford  me  a  consider- 
able income.  My  old  competitor's  newspaper  de- 
clin'd  proportionably,  and  I  was  satisfy'd  without 
retaliating  his  refusal,  while  postmaster,  to  permit 
my  papers  being  carried  by  the  riders.  Thus  he 
suffer'd  greatly  from  his  neglect  in  due  accounting  ; 
and  I  mention  it  as  a  lesson  to  those  young  men  who 
may  be  employ'd  in  managing  affairs  for  others, 
thai  they  should  always  render  accounts,  and  make 
remittances,  with  great  clearness  and  punctuality. 
The  character  of  observing  such  a  conduct  is  the 
most  powerful  of  all  recommendations  to  new  em- 
ployments and  increase  of  business. 


262  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

I  began  now  to  turn  my  thoughts  a  little  to  public 
affairs,  beginning,  however,  with  small  matters. 
The  city  watch  was  one  of  the  first  things  that  1 
conceiv'd  to  want  regulation.  It  was  managed  by 
the  constables  of  the  respective  wards  in  turn  ;  the 
constable  warned  a  number  of  housekeepers  to  at- 
tend him  for  the  night.  Those  who  chose  never  to 
attend,  paid  him  six  shillings  a  year  to  be  excus'd, 
which  was  suppos'd  to  be  for  hiring  substitutes,  but 
was,  in  reality,  much  more  than  was  necessary  for 
that  purpose,  and  made  the  constableship  a  place  of 
profit ;  and  the  constable,  for  a  little  drink,  often  got 
such  ragamuffins  about  him  as  a  watch,  that  respect- 
able housekeepers  did  not  choose  to  mix  with. 
Walking  the  rounds,  too,  was  often  neglected,  and 
most  of  the  nights  spent  in  tippling.  I  thereupon 
wrote  a  paper  to  be  read  in  Junto,  representing 
these  irregularities,  but  insisting  more  particularly 
on  the  inequality  of  this  six-shilling  tax  of  the  con- 
stables, respecting  the  circumstances  of  those  who 
paid  it,  since  a  poor  widow  housekeeper,  all  whose 
property  to  be  guarded  by  the  watch  did  not  per- 
haps exceed  the  value  of  fifty  pounds,  paid  as  much 
as  the  wealthiest  merchant,  who  had  thousands  of 
pounds'  worth  of  goods  in  his  stores. 

On  the  whole,  I  proposed  as  a  more  effectual 
watch,  the  hiring  of  proper  men  to  serve  constantly 
in  that  business  ;  and  as  a  more  equitable  way  of 
supporting  the  charge,  the  levying  a  tax  that  should 
be  proportion'd  to  the  property.     This  idea,  being 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  263 

approv'd  by  the  Junto,  was  communicated  to  the 
other  clubs,  but  as  arising  in  each  of  them ;  and 
though  the  plan  was  not  immediately  carried  into 
execution,  yet,  by  preparing  the  minds  of  people  for 
the  change,  it  paved  the  way  for  the  law  obtained  a 
few  years  after,  when  the  members  of  our  clubs 
were  grown  into  more  influence. 

About  this  time  I  wrote  a  paper  (first  to  be  read 
in  Junto,  but  it  was  afterward  publish'd)  on  the  dif- 
ferent accidents  and  carelessnesses  by  which  houses 
were  set  on  fire,  with  cautions  against  them,  and 
means  proposed  of  avoiding  them.  This  was  much 
spoken  of  as  a  useful  piece,  and  gave  rise  to  a  pro- 
ject, which  soon  followed  it,  of  forming  a  company 
for  the  more  ready  extinguishing  of  fires,  and  mutual 
assistance  in  removing  and  securing  of  goods  when 
in  danger.  Associates  in  this  scheme  were  presently 
found,  amounting  to  thirty.  Our  articles  of  agree- 
ment oblig'd  every  member  to  keep  always  in  good 
order,  and  fit  for  use,  a  certain  number  of  leather 
buckets,  with  strong  bags  and  baskets  (for  packing 
and  transporting  of  goods) ,  which  were  to  be  brought 
to  every  fire  ;  and  we  agreed  to  meet  once  a  month 
and  spend  a  social  evening  together,  in  discoursing 
and  communicating  such  ideas  as  occurred  to  us 
upon  the  subject  of  fires,  as  might  be  useful  in  our 
conduct  on  such  occasions. 

The  utility  of  this  institution  soon  appeared,  and 
many  more  desiring  to  be  admitted  than  we  thought 
convenient  for  one  company,  they  were  advised  to 


264  AUTO  BIO  GRAPH  T  OF 

form  another,  which  was  accordingly  done  ;  and  this 
went  on,  one  new  company  being  formed  after  an- 
other, till  they  became  so  numerous  as  to  include 
most  of  the  inhabitants  who  were  men  of  property ; 
and  now,  at  the  time  of  my  writing  this,  tho'  up- 
ward of  fifty  years  since  its  establishment,  that  which 
I  first  formed,  called  the  Union  Fire  Company,  still 
subsists  and  flourishes,  tho' the  first  members  are  all 
deceas'd  but  myself  and  one,  who  is  older  by  a  year 
than  I  am.  The  small  fines  that  have  been  paid  by 
members  for  absence  at  the  monthly  meetings  have 
been  apply'd  to  the  purchase  of  fire-engines,  lad- 
ders, fire-hooks,  and  other  useful  implements  for 
each  company,  so  that  I  question  whether  there  is  a 
city  in  the  world  better  provided  with  the  means  of 
putting  a  stop  to  beginning  conflagrations ;  and,  in 
fact,  since  these  institutions,  the  city  has  never  lost 
by  fire  more  than  one  or  two  houses  at  a  time,  and 
the  flames  have  often  been  extinguished  before  the 
house  in  which  they  began  has  been  half  consumed.* 


*  This  fire  company  was  formed  Dec.  7,  1736.  It  was  designed  pri- 
marily for  the  security  of  the  property  of  its  members,  though  they  did 
not  limit  their  usefulness  to  their  own  members  when  their  property  was 
not  in  danger.  The  Union  Fire  Company  was  in  active  service  as  late 
as  1 791.  In  a  roll  of  the  companies  of  that  day  we  find  it  heading  the 
list,  having  thirty  members,  one  engine,  two  hundred  and  fifty  buckets, 
thirteen  ladders,  two  hooks,  no  bags,  and  one  eighty-foot  rope. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  articles  of  association  which  follow,  that  the 
number  of  members  was  restricted  to  thirty.  The  applicants  in  a  year 
or  two  much  exceeded  this  number,  and  there  being  no  possibility  of 
uniting  with  it,  measures  were  taken  to  form  a  new  company,  which  re- 
sulted in  1738  in  the  establishment  of  the  second  voluntary  fire  company. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  265 

In  1739  arrived  among  us  from  Ireland  the  Rev- 
erend Mr.  Whitefield,  who   had   made  himself  re- 


"The  Fellowship."  See  a  series  of  interesting  sketches  of  the  fire  ap- 
paratus and  the  Philadelphia  Fire  Department,  between  the  years  1701 
and  1802,  written  for  the  Philadelphia  Sunday  Dispatch,  by  Thompson 
Westcott 

'*  Articles  of  the  Union  Fire  Company  of  Philadelphia,  originally  formed 
Dec.  7,  1736. 

"  I.  That  we  will  each  of  us,  at  his  own  proper  charge,  provide  six 
leather  buckets  and  two  bags,  the  bags  to  be  made  of  good  ozenburgs  or 
wider  linen,  whereof  each  bag  shall  contain  four  yards  at  least,  and  shall 
have  a  running  cord  near  the  mouth,  which  said  buckets  and  bags  shall 
be  marked  with  their  own  names  respectively  and  company,  and  shall 
be  kept  ready  at  hand,  and  shall  be  applied  to  no  other  use  than  for  pre- 
serving our  own  and  our  fellow-citizens'  houses,  goods  and  effects,  in 
case  of  fire  as  aforesaid. 

"II.  That  if  any  of  us  shall  neglect  to  provide  his  buckets  and  bags 
as  aforesaid,  or  when  so  provided  shall  neglect  to  keep  them  ready  for 
the  uses  herein  mentioned,  or  shall  apply  them  to  any  other  purpose,  he 
shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  clerk  for  the  time  being,  for  the  use  of  the 
company,  the  sum  of  i-8th  of  a  dollar  for  each  bucket  or  bag  misapplied 
or  wanting,  except  any  of  them  happen  to  be  lost  at  a  fire. 

"  III.  That  if  any  of  the  buckets  or  bags  so  marked  as  aforesaid  shall 
be  lost  or  damaged  at  any  fire,  the  same  shall  be  supplied  or  repaired 
out  of  the  stock  of  the  company,  provided  notice  be  given  thereof  to  the 
company  within  four  months  after  such  loss  or  damage. 

"  IV.  That  we  will,  all  of  us,  upon  hearing  of  Fire  breaking  out,  im- 
mediately repair  to  the  same  with  at  least  one-half  of  our  buckets  and 
bags,  and  there  exert  our  best  endeavors  to  extinguish  such  fire,  and 
preserve  the  goods  and  effects  of  such  of  us  as  may  be  in  danger. 
And  if  more  than  one  of  us  shall  be  in  danger  at  one  time,  we  will  divide 
ourselves  with  the  remainder  of  our  buckets  and  bags  as  nearly  as  may 
be,  to  be  equally  helpful.  And  to  prevent  suspicious  persons  from 
coming  into  or  carrying  any  goods  out  of  such  houses  as  may  be  in 
danger,  two  of  our  members  shall  constantly  attend  at  the  doors  until  all 
the  goods  and  effects  that  can  be  saved  are  packed  up  and  carried  to  a 
place  of  safety.  And  upon  hearing  the  cry  of  Fire  in  the  night-time 
we  will  immediately  cause  sufficient  lights  to  be  distributed  in  such  parts 
of  the  houses  of  such  of  our  company  as  may  be  thought  in  danger,  in 
23  m 


266  AUTOBIO GRAPH  1'  OF 

markable  there  as  an  itinerant  preacher.  He  was 
at  first  permitted  to  preach  in  some  of  our  churches  ; 
but  the  clergy,  taking  a  dislike  to  him,  soon  refus'd 
him  their  pulpits,  and  he  was  oblig'd  to  preach  in 
the  fields.  The  multitudes  of  all  sects  and  denomi- 
nations that  attended   his  sermons  were  enormous, 


order  to  prevent  confusion  ai  d  enable  their  friends  to  give  them  moie 
speedy  and  effectual  assistance.  And  moreover,  as  this  association  is 
intended  for  a  general  benefit,  we  do  further  agree,  that  whenever  a 
Fire  breaks  out  in  any  part  of  the  city,  though  none  of  our  houses,  goods 
or  effects  may  be  in  apparent  danger,  we  will  nevertheless  repair  thither 
with  our  buckets  and  bags  as  before  mentioned,  and  give  our  utmost 
assistance  to  such  of  our  fellow-citizens  as  may  stand  in  need  of  it,  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  they  belonged  to  this  company. 

"  V.  Provides  for  eight  meetings  during  the  year,  and  every  member 
shall  pay  three  shillings  for  his  share  of  the  reckoning  of  the  evening. 
Members  not  there  at  the  commencement  of  the  evening  to  pay  one 
shilling ;  those  not  there  during  the  entire  evening  to  pay  four  shilling. 

"  VI.  Provides  that  each  of  us,  in  our  turns,  agreeable  to  the  order 
of  our  subscriptions,  serve  the  company  as  clerk  or  get  some  other  mem- 
ber to  serve  in  our  stead,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  inspect  the  condition 
of  all  our  buckets,  bags,  ladders  and  engine,  and  make  report  at  each 
meeting.  The  article  also  sets  out  the  duties  of  the  clerk,  such  as  giv- 
ing notice  of  meetings,  keeping  minutes,  etc 

"VII.  Provides  for  the  election  of  treasurer  and  prescribes  his  duties. 

"VIII.  Provides  that  the  company  shall  not  consist  of  more  than 
thirty  members,  etc. 

"IX.  Provides  that  each  member  shall  keep  a  copy  of  these  articles 
and  a  list  of  all  the  members'  names  fixed  in  open  view  near  his  buckets, 
on  pain  of  forfeiture  for  each,  as  often  as  the  same  is  reported  to  the 
company. 

"  X.  Provides  that  all  fines  shall  be  paid  to  the  treasurer  for  the  use 
of  the  company. 

"  XI.  That  upon  the  death  of  any  of  our  company  the  survivors  shall, 
in  time  of  danger  as  aforesaid,  be  aiding  and  assisting  the  widow  of  such 
decedent  during  her  widowhood,  as  if  her  husband  had  been  living — she 
only  keeping  her  buckets  and  bags  in  repair,  and  causing  them  to  be 
sent  to  everv  fire  aforesaid." — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  267 

and  it  was  matter  of  speculation  to  me,  who  was  one 
of  the  number,  to  observe  the  extraordinary  influ- 
ence of  his  oratory  on  his  hearers,  and  how  much 
they  admir'd  and  respected  him,  notwithstanding 
his  common  abuse  of  them,  by  assuring  them  they 
were  naturally  half  beasts  and  half  devils.  It  was 
wonderful  to  see  the  change  soon  made  in  the 
manners  of  our  inhabitants.  From  being  thought- 
less or  indifferent  about  religion^  it  seem'd  as  if 
all  the  world  were  growing  religious,  so  that  one 
could  not  walk  thro'  the  town  in  an  evening  without 
hearing  psalms  sung  in  different  families,  of  ^every 
street. 

And  it  being  found  inconvenient  to  assemble  in 
the  open  air,  subject  to  its  inclemencies,  the  build- 
ing of  a  house  to  meet  in  was  no  sooner  propos'd, 
and  persons  appointed  to  receive  contributions,  but 
sufficient  sums  were  soon  receiv'd  to  procure  the 
ground  and  erect  the  building,  which  was  one  hun- 
dred feet  long  and  seventy  broad,  about  the  size  of 
Westminster  Hall ;  and  the  work  was  carried  on 
with  such  spirit  as  to  be  finished  in  a  much  shorter 
time  than  could  have  been  expected.  Both  house 
and  ground  were  vested  in  trustees,  expressly  for 
the  use  of  any  preacher  of  any  religious  persuasion 
who  might  desire  to  say  something  to  the  people  at 
Philadelphia ;  the  design  in  building  not  being  to 
accommodate  any  particular  sect,  but  the  inhabitants 
in  general ;  so  that  even  if  the  Mufti  of  Constanti- 
nople were  to  send  a  missionary  to  preach  Moham- 


268  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

medanism  to  us,  he  would  find  a  pulpit  at  his 
service. 

Mr.  Whitefield,  in  leaving  us,  went  preaching  all 
the  way  thro'  the  colonies  to  Georgia.  The  set- 
tlement of  that  province  had  lately  been  begun,  but, 
instead  of  being  made  with  hardy,  industrious  hus- 
bandmen, accustomed  to  labor,  the  only  people  fit 
for  such  an  enterprise,  it  was  with  families  of  broken 
shop-keepers  and  other  insolvent  debtors,  many  of 
indolent  and  idle  habits,  taken  out  of  the  jails,  who, 
being  set  down  in  the  woods,  unqualified  for  clear- 
ing land,  and  unable  to  endure  the  hardships  of  a 
new  settlement,  perished  in  numbers,  leaving  many 
helpless  children  unprovided  for.  The  sight  of  their 
miserable  situation  inspir'd  the  benevolent  heart  of 
Mr.  Whitefield  with  the  idea  of  building  an  Orphan 
House  there,  in  which  they  might  be  supported  and 
educated.  Returning  northward,  he  preach'd  up 
this  charity,  and  made  large  collections,  for  his 
eloquence  had  a  wonderful  power  over  the  hearts 
and  purses  of  his  hearers,  of  which  I  myself  was 
an  instance. 

I  did  not  disapprove  of  the  design,  but,  as  Georgia 
was  then  destitute  of  materials  and  workmen,  and 
it  was  proposed  to  send  them  from  Philadelphia  at  a 
great  expense,  I  thought  it  would  have  been  better 
to  have  built  the  house  here,  and  brought  the  chil- 
dren to  it.  This  I  advis'd  ;  but  he  was  resolute  in 
his  first  project,  rejected  my  counsel,  and  I  there- 
fore refus'd  to  contribute.     I  happened  soon  after  to 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  269 

attend  one  of  his  sermons,  in  the  course  of  which  I 
perceived  he  intended  to  finish  with  a  collection, 
and  I  silently  resolved  he  should  get  nothing  from 
me.  I  had  in  my  pocket  a  handful  of  copper 
money,  three  or  four  silver  dollars,  and  five  pistoles 
in  gold.  As  he  proceeded  I  began  to  soften,  and 
concluded  to  give  the  coppers.  Another  stroke  of 
his  oratory  made  me  asham'd  of  that,  and  deter- 
min'd  me  to  give  the  silver ;  and  he  finish'd  so 
admirably,  that  I  empty'd  my  pocket  wholly  into  the 
collector's  dish,  gold  and  all.  At  this  sermon  there 
was  also  one  of  our  club,  who,  being  of  my  senti- 
ments respecting  the  building  in  Georgia,  and  sus- 
pecting a  collection  might  be  intended,  had,  by  pre- 
caution, emptied  his  pockets  before  he  came  from 
home.  Towards  the  conclusion  of  the  discourse, 
however,  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  give,  and  apply 'd 
to  a  neighbour,  who  stood  near  him,  to  borrow 
some  money  for  the  purpose.  The  application  was 
unfortunately  [made]  to  perhaps  the  only  man  in  the 
company  who  had  the  firmness  not  to  be  affected  by 
the  preacher.  His  answer  was,  "At  any  other 
time,  Friend  Ho-pkinson,  I  would  lend  to  thee 
freely ;  but  not  now,  for  thee  seems  to  be  out  of 
thy  right  senses." 

Some  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  enemies  affected  to  sup- 
pose that  he  would  apply  these  collections  to  his 
nwn  private  emolument;  but  I,  who  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  him  (being  employed  in  printing 
his  Sermons  and  Journals,  etc.),  never  had  the  least 

28* 


2/0  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

suspicion  of  his  integrity,  but  am  to  this  day  de- 
cidedly of  opinion  that  he  was  in  all  his  conduct  a 
perfectly  honest  man;  and  methinks  my  testimony 
in  his  favour  ought  to  have  the  more  weight,  as  we 
had  no  religious  connection.  He  us'd,  indeed, 
sometimes  to  pray  for  my  conversion,  but  never  had 
the  satisfaction  of  believing  that  his  prayers  were 
heard.  Ours  was  a  mere  civil  friendship,  sincere 
on  both  sides,  and  lasted  to  his  death. 

The  following  instance  will  show  something  of 
the  terms  on  which  we  stood.  Upon  one  of  his 
arrivals  from  England  at  Boston,  he  wrote  to  me 
that  he  should  come  soon  to  Philadelphia,  but  knew 
not  where  he  could  lodge  when  there,  as  he  under- 
stood his  old  friend  and  host,  Mr.  Benezet,  was 
removed  to  Germantown.  My  answer  was,  "You 
know  my  house ;  if  you  can  make  shift  with  its 
scanty  accommodations,  you  will  be  most  heartily 
welcome."  He  reply'd,  that  if  I  made  that  kind 
offer  for  Christ's  sake,  I  should  not  miss  of  a  reward. 
And  I  returned,  " DonH  let  me  be  mistaken;  it  was 
not  for  Christ's  sake,  but  for  your  sake"  One  of 
our  common  acquaintance  jocosely  remark'd,  that, 
knowing  it  to  be  the  custom  of  the  saints,  when 
they  received  any  favour,  to  shift  the  burden  of 
the  obligation  from  off  their  own  shoulders,  and 
place  it  in  heaven,  I  had  contriv'd  to  fix  it  on 
earth. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Mr.  Whitefield  was  in  Lon- 
don, when  he  consulted  me  about  his  Orphan  House 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2/1 

concern,  and  his  purpose  of  appropriating  it  to  the 
establishment  of  a  college. 

He  had  a  loud  and  clear  voice,  and  articulated  his 
words  and  sentences  so  perfectly,  that  he  might  be 
heard  and  understood  at  a  great  distance,  especially  as 
his  auditories,  however  numerous,  observ'd  the  most 
exact  silence.  He  preach'd  one  evening  from  the  top 
of  the  Court-house  steps,  which  are  in  the  middle  of 
Market-street,  and  on  the  west  side  of  Second-street, 
which  crosses  it  at  right  angles.  Both  streets  were 
fill'd  with  his  hearers  to  a  considerable  distance. 
Being  among  the  hindmost  in  Market-street,  I  had 
the  curiosity  to  learn  how  far  he  could  be  heard,  by  re 
tiring  backwards  down  the  street  towards  the  river ; 
and  I  found  his  voice  distinct  till  I  came  near  Front- 
street,  when  some  noise  in  that  street  obscur'd  it. 
Imagining  then  a  semicircle,  of  which  my  distance 
should  be  the  radius,  and  that  it  were  fill'd  with 
auditors,  to  each  of  whom  I  allow'd  two  square  feet, 
I  computed  that  he  might  well  be  heard  by  more 
than  thirty  thousand.  This  reconcil'd  me  to  the 
newspaper  accounts  of  his  having  preach'd  to 
twenty-five  thousand  people  in  the  fields,  and  to 
the  antient  histories  of  generals  haranguing  whole 
armies,  of  which  I  had  sometimes  doubted. 

By  hearing  him  often,  I  came  to  distinguish  easily 
between  sermons  newly  compos'd,  and  those  which 
he  had  often  preach'd  in  the  course  of  his  travels. 
His  delivery  of  the  latter  was  so  improv'd  by  fre- 
quent repetitions  that  every  accent,  every  emphasis, 


272  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

every  modulation  of  voice,  was  so  perfectly  well 
turn'd  and  well  plac'd,  that,  without  being  interested 
in  the  subject,  one  could  not  help  being  pleas'd 
with  the  discourse ;  a  pleasure  of  much  the  same 
kind  with  that  receiv'd  from  an  excellent  piece  of 
musick.  This  is  an  advantage  itinerant  preachers 
have  over  those  who  are  stationary,  as  the  latter 
can  not  well  improve  their  delivery  of  a  sermon  by 
so  many  rehearsals. 

His  writing  and  printing  from  time  to  time  gave 
great  advantage  to  his  enemies ;  unguarded  expres- 
sions, and  even  erroneous  opinions,  delivered  in 
preaching,  might  have  been  afterwards  explain'd  or 
qualifi'd  by  supposing  others  that  might  have  ac- 
compani'd  them,  or  they  might  have  been  deny'd ; 
but  litera  serif  ta  manet.  Critics  attack'd  his  writ- 
ings violently,  and  with  so  much  appearance  of 
reason  as  to  diminish  the  number  of  his  votaries  and 
prevent  their  encrease ;  so  that  I  am  of  opinion  if 
he  had  never  written  any  thing,  he  would  have  left 
behind  him  a  much  more  numerous  and  important 
sect,  and  his  reputation  might  in  that  case  have  been 
still  growing,  even  after  his  death,  as  there  being 
nothing  of  his  writing  on  which  to  found  a  censure 
and  give  him  a  lowrer  character,  his  proselytes  would 
be  left  at  liberty  to  feign  for  him  as  great  a  variety 
of  excellences  as  their  enthusiastic  admiration  might 
wish  him  to  have  possessed. 

My  business  was  now  continually  augmenting, 
and    my   circumstances    growing    daily   easier,   my 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2?$ 

newspaper  having  become  very  profitable,  as  being 
for  a  time  almost  the  only  one  in  this  and  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces.  I  experienced,  too,  the  truth  of 
the  observation,  "  that  after  getting  the  first  hun- 
dred -pound,  it  is  more  easy  to  get  the  seconds 
money  itself  being  of  a  prolific  nature. 

The  partnership  at  Carolina  having  succeeded.  I 
was  encourag'd  to  engage  in  others,  and  to  promote 
several  of  my  workmen,  who  had  behaved  well,  by 
establishing  them  with  printing-houses  in  different 
colonies,  on  the  same  terms  with  that  in  Carolina. 
Most  of  them  did  well,  being  enabled  at  the  end  of 
our  term,  six  years,  to  purchase  the  types  of  me  and 
go  on  working  for  themselves,  by  which  means 
several  families  were  raised.  Partnerships  often 
finish  in  quarrels ;  but  I  was  happy  in  this,  that 
mine  were  all  carried  on  and  ended  amicably, 
owing,  I  think,  a  good  deal  to  the  precaution  of 
having  very  explicitly  settled,  in  our  articles,  every 
thing  to  be  done  by  or  expected  from  each  partner, 
so  that  there  was  nothing  to  dispute,  which  precau 
tion  I  would  therefore  recommend  to  all  wno  enter 
into  partnerships ;  for,  whatever  esteem  partners 
may  have  for,  and  confidence  in  each  other  at  the 
time  of  the  contract,  little  jealousies  and  disgusts 
may  arise,  with  ideas  of  inequality  in  the  care  and 
burden  of  the  business,  etc. ,  which  are  attended 
often  with  breach  of  friendship  and  of  the  connec- 
tion, perhaps  with  lawsuits  and  other  disagreeable 
consequences. 


274  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  had,  on  the  whole,  abundant  reason  to  be  satis- 
fied with  my  being  established  in  Pennsylvania. 
There  were,  however,  two  things  that  I  regretted, 
there  being  no  provision  for  defense,  nor  for  a  corn- 
pleat  education  of  }^outh ;  no  militia,  nor  any  col- 
lege. I  therefore,  in  1743,  drew  up  a  proposal  for 
establishing  an  academy  ;  and  at  that  time,  thinking 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Peters,  who  was  out  of  employ, 
a  fit  person  to  superintend  such  an  institution,  I 
communicated  the  project  to  him;  but  he,  having 
more  profitable  views  in  the  service  of  the  propri- 
etaries, which  succeeded,  declin'd  the  undertaking; 
and,  not  knowing  another  at  that  time  suitable  for 
such  a  trust,  I  let  the  scheme  lie  a  while  dormant. 
I  succeeded  better  the  next  year,  1744,  in  proposing 
and  establishing  a  Philosophical  Society.  The 
paper  I  wrote  for  that  purpose  will  be  found  among 
my  writings,  when  collected.* 


*  The  paper  here  referred  to  will  be  found  in  the  4th  vol.  of  Sparks' 
Works  of  Franklin,  p.  14.  It  bears  date  the  14th  of  May,  1743,  Old 
Style.  It  is  entitled,  "  A  proposal  for  promoting  useful  knowledge 
among  the  British  Plantations  in  America."  It  commences  by  speaking 
of  the  great  extent  of  the  colonial  possessions,  "  having  different  cli- 
mates and  different  soils,  producing  different  plants,  mires,  and  mine- 
rals, and  capable  of  different  improvements,  manufactures,"  etc. 

It  then  says :  "  The  first  drudgery  of  settling  new  colonies,  which 
confines  the  attention  of  people  to  mere  necessaries,  is  now  pretty  well 
over ;  and  there  are  many  in  every  province  in  circumstances  that  set 
them  at  ease,  and  afford  leisure  to  cultivate  the  finer  arts,  and  improve 
the  common  stock  of  knowledge.  To  such  of  these  who  are  men  of 
speculation,  many  hints  must  from  time  to  time  arise,  many  observations 
occur,  which  if  well  examined,  pursued,  and  improved,  might  produce 
discoveries  to  the  advantage  of  some  or  all  of  the  British  Plantations,  of 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  275 

With  respect  to  defense,  Spain  having  been  sev- 
eral years  at  war  against  Great  Britain,  and  being 


to  the  benefit  of  mankind  in  general But  as,  from  the  extent  of 

the  country,,  sach  persons  are  widely  separated,  and  seldom  can  see  and 
convrrse  or  be  acquainted  with  each  other,  so  that  many  useful  particu- 
lars remain  uncommunicated,  die  with  the  discoverers,  and  are  lost  to 
mankind;  it  is  to  remedy  this  inconvenience  for  the  future,  proposed — 

"  That  one  society  be  formed  of  virtuosi,  or  ingenious  men,  residing 
in  the  several  colonies,  to  be  called  The  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety, who  are  to  maintain  constant  correspondence. 

"  That  Philadelphia,  being  the  city  nearest  to  the  centre  of  the  con- 
tinent colonies,  communicating  with  all  of  them  northward  and  south- 
ward by  post,  and  with  all  the  islands  by  sea,  and  having  the  advantage 
of  a  good  growing  library,  be  the  centre  of  the  Society. 

"That  at  Philadelphia  there  be  always  at  least  seven  members,  viz. 
a  physician,  a  botanist,  a  mathematician,  a  chemist,  a  mechanician,  a 
geographer,  and  a  general  natural  philosopher,  besides  a  president,  trea 
surer,  and  secretary. 

"  That  these  members  meet  once  a  month,  or  oftener,  at  their  own 
expense,  to  communicate  to  each  other  their  observations  and  experi 
ments ;  to  receive,  read,  and  consider  such  letters,  communications,  or 
queries  as  shall  be  sent  from  distant  members  ;  to  direct  the  dispersing 
of  the  copies  of  such  communications  as  are  valuable,  to  other  distant 
members,  in  order  to  procure  their  sentiments  thereupon." 

Then  follows  an  enumeration,  made  with  some  detail,  of  the  subjects 
on  which  it  was  proposed  that  the  Society  should  be  occupied :  includ- 
ing investigations  in  botany ;  in  medicine  ;  in  mineralogy  and  mining  ; 
in  mathematics ;  in  chemistry ;  in  mechanics ;  in  arts,  trades,  and 
manufactures  ;  in  geography  and  topography ;  in  agriculture  ;  and  "  all 
philosophical  experiments  that  let  light  into  the  nature  of  things,  tend 
to  increase  the  power  of  man  over  matter,  and  multiply  the  conveniences 
or  pleasures  of  life." 

The  circular  proposes  that  "  a  correspondence  be  kept  up  with  the 
Royal  Society  of  London,  and  the  Dublin  Society ;  that  abstracts  of 
the  communications  be  sent  quarterly  to  all  the  members  ;  and  that, 
at  the  end  of  every  year,  collections  be  made  and  printed  of  such  expe- 
riments, discoveries,  and  improvements,  as  may  be  thought  of  public 
advantage." 

The  duties  of  the  secretary  are  particularly  laid  down,  and  they  are 


2^6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

at  length  join'd  by  France,  which  brought  us   into 
great  danger  ;  and  the  laboured*  and  long-continued 


very  arduous ;  requiring  that  he  attend  to  all  the  correspondence, 
"  abstract,  correct,  and  methodize  such  papers  as  require  it,  and  as 
he  shall  be  directed  to  do  by  the  president,  after  they  have  been  con- 
sidered, debated,  and  digested  in  the  Society ;  to  enter  copies  thereof 
in  the  Society's  books,  and  make  out  copies  for  distant  members." 
And  after  enumerating  these  difficult  duties,  the  circular  closes  by 
saying: 

"  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  writer  of  this  proposal,  offers  himself  to 
serve  the  Society  as  their  secretary,  till  they  shall  be  provided  with 
one  more  capable." 

In  this  projet  will  be  found  all  the  leading  features  of  the  present 
American  Philosophical  Society.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  from  the 
day  when  it  was  proposed  the  necessary  measures  for  carrying  it  into 
execution  were  taken.  Dr.  Thomas  Bond  (himself  one  of  the  original 
members),  in  an  oration  delivered  before  the  Society  in  1782,  says: — 
"  Franklin  gradually  established  many  necessary  institutions,  among 
which  was  this  Philosophical  Society,  so  early  as  1743,  when  the  plan 
was  formed  and  published,  the  members  chosen,  and  an  invitation  given 
to  all  ingenious  persons  to  co-operate  and  correspond  with  them  on  the 
laudable  occasion."  It  is  true  that  Franklin,  in  his  Autobiography,  gives 
the  date  1744,  saying,  "in  that  year  I  succeeded  in  proposing  and 
establishing  a  Philosophical  Society.  The  paper  I  wrote  for  that  pur- 
pose will  be  found  among  my  writings,  if  not  lost  with  many  others." 
But  Franklin  wrote  from  memory,  and  the  date  of  the  paper  referred  to, 
which  was  doubtless  the  proposal  of  1743,  shows  that  he  had  made  a 
mistake  in  the  year. 

In  a  letter  to  Cadwallader  Colden,  dated  New  York,  5th  April,  1744, 
Dr.  Franklin  acquaints  him  "  that  the  Society,  as  far  as  relates  to  Phi- 
ladelphia, was  actually  formed,  and  had  had  several  meetings  to  mutual 
.satisfaction." 

In  this  letter  the  following  list  is  presented  of  the  original  members  . 

Dr.  Thomas  Bond,  as  Physician. 

Mr.  John  Bartram.  as  Botanist 

Mr.  Thomas  Godfrey,  as  Mathematician. 

Mr.  Samuel  Rhoads,  as  Mechanician. 

Mr.  William  Parsons,  as  Geographer. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  277 

endeavour  of  our  governor,  Thomas,  to  prevail  with 
our  Quaker  Assembly  to  pass  a  militia  law,  and 
make  other  provisions  for  the  security  of  the  pro- 
vince, having  proved  abortive,  I  determined  to  try 
what  might  be  done  by  a  voluntary  association  of 
the  people.  To  promote  this,  I  first  wrote  and  pub- 
lished a  pamphlet,  entitled  Plain  Truth,  in  which 
I  stated  our  defenceless  situation  in  strong  lights, 
with  the  necessity  of  union  and  discipline  for  our 
defense,  and  promis'd  to  propose  in  a  few  days  an 
association,  to  be  generally  signed  for  that  purpose. 
The  pamphlet  had  a  sudden  and  surprising  effect. 
I  was  calPd  upon  for  the  instrument  of  association, 
and  having  settled  the  draft  of  it  with  a  few  friends,  I 
appointed  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  in  the  large  build- 
ing before  mentioned.  The  house  was  pretty  full ;  I 
had  prepared  a  number  of  printed  copies,  and  pro- 
vided pens  and  ink  dispers'd  all  over  the  room.     I 


Dr.  Phineas  Bond,  as  General  Natural  Philosopher. 
Mr.  Thomas  Hopkinson,  President 
Mr.  William  Coleman,  Treasurer. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Secretary. 

Though  the  American  Philosophical  Society  was  not,  strictly  speak- 
ing, the  organic  continuation  of  the  Junto,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  plan  of  establishing  it  had  been  often  brought  before  the  Junto  for 
consideration,  for  we  know  that  it  was  the  practice  of  Franklin,  when 
he  had  new  projects  to  propose,  to  have  them  first  discussed  in  the 
Club.  But  a  stronger  evidence  still  of  the  part  which  they  took  in  form- 
ing the  new  institution  is  presented  by  the  fact  that  of  the  nine  original 
members  of  the  Philosophical  Society,  six,  including  the  three  officers, 
are  known  to  have  belonged  to  the  Junto, — namely,  Franklin,  Hopkin* 
son,  Coleman,  Godfrey,  Rhoads,  and  Parsons. — Ed. 
24 


278  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

harangued  them  a  little  on  the  subject,  read  the 
paper,  and  explained  it,  and  then  distributed  the 
copies,  which  were  eagerly  signed,  not  the  least 
objection  being  made. 

When  the  company  separated,  and  the  papers 
were  collected,  we  found  above  twelve  hundred 
hands ;  and,  other  copies  being  dispersed  in  the 
country,  the  subscribers  amounted  at  length  to  up- 
ward of  ten  thousand.  These  all  furnished  them- 
selves as  soon  as  they  could  with  arms,  formed 
themselves  into  companies  and  regiments,  chose 
their  own  officers,  and  met  every  week  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  manual  exercise,  and  other  parts  of 
military  discipline.  The  women,  by  subscriptions 
among  themselves,  provided  silk  colors,  which  they 
presented  to  the  companies,  painted  with  different 
devices  and  mottos,  which  I  supplied. 

The  officers  of  the  companies  composing  the 
Philadelphia  regiment,  being  met,  chose  me  for 
their  colonel ;  but,  conceiving  myself  unfit,  I  de- 
clin'd  that  station,  and  recommended  Mr.  Lawrence, 
a  fine  person,  and  man  of  influence,  who  was  ac- 
cordingly appointed.  I  then  propos'd  a  lottery  to 
defray  the  expense  of  building  a  battery  below  the 
town,  and  furnishing  it  with  cannon.  It  filled  ex- 
peditiously, and  the  battery  was  soon  erected,  the 
merlons  being  fram'd  of  logs  and  fill'd  with  earth. 
We  bought  some  old  cannon  from  Boston,  but,  these 
not  being  sufficient,  we  wrote  to  England  for  more, 
soliciting,   at  the  same  time,   our  proprietaries  for 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2JQ 

some  assistance,  tho'  without  much  expectation  of 
obtaining  it. 

Meanwhile,  Colonel  Lawrence,  William  Allen, 
Abram  Taylor,  Esqr.,  and  myself  were  sent  to 
New  York  by  the  associators,  commission'd  to  bor- 
row some  cannon  of  Governor  Clinton.  He  at  first 
refus'd  us  peremptorily  ;  but  at  dinner  with  his  coun- 
cil, where  there  was  great  drinking  of  Madeira  wine, 
as  the  custom  of  that  place  then  was,  he  softened  by 
degrees,  and  said  he  would  lend  us  six.  After  a 
few  more  bumpers  he  advanc'd  to  ten  ;  and  at  length 
he  very  good-naturedly  conceded  eighteen.  They 
were  fine  cannon,  eighteen-pounders,  with  their  car- 
riages, which  we  soon  transported  and  mounted 
on  our  battery,  where  the  associators  kept  a  nightly 
guard  while  the  war  lasted,  and  among  the  rest  I 
regularly  took  my  turn  of  duty  there  as  a  common 
soldier. 

My  activity  in  these  operations  was  agreeable  to 
the  governor  and  council ;  they  took  me  into  con- 
fidence, and  I  was  consulted  by  them  in  every  mea- 
sure wherein  their  concurrence  was  thought  useful 
to  the  association.  Calling  in  the  aid  of  religion,  1 
propos'd  to  them  the  proclaiming  a  fast,  to  promote 
reformation,  and  implore  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on 
our  undertaking.  They  embrac'd  the  motion  ;  but, 
as  it  was  the  first  fast  ever  thought  of  in  the  province, 
the  secretary  had  no  precedent  from  which  to  draw 
the  proclamation.  My  education  in  New  England, 
where  a  fast  is  proclaimed  every  year,  was  here  of 


280  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

some  advantage  :  I  drew  it  in  the  accustomed  stile , 
it  was  translated  into  German,  printed  in  both  lan- 
guages, and  divulg'd  thro' the  province.  This  gave 
the  clergy  of  the  different  sects  an  opportunity  of 
influencing  their  congregations  to  join  in  the  asso- 
ciation, and  it  would  probably  have  been  general 
among  all  but  Quakers  if  the  peace  had  not  soon 
interven'd. 

It  was  thought  by  some  of  my  friends  that,  by 
my  activity  in  these  affairs,  I  should  offend  that  sect, 
and  thereby  lose  my  interest  in  the  Assembly  of 
the  province,  where  they  formed  a  great  majority. 
A  young  gentleman  who  had  likewise  some  friends 
in  the  House,  and  wished  to  succeed  me  as  their 
clerk,  acquainted  me  that  it  was  decided  to  displace 
me  at  the  next  election ;  and  he,  therefore,  in  good 
will,  advis'd  me  to  resign,  as  more  consistent  with 
my  honour  than  being  turn'd  out.  My  answer  to 
him  was,  that  I  had  read  or  heard  of  some  public 
man  who  made  it  a  rule  never  to  ask  for  an  office, 
and  never  to  refuse  one  when  offer'd  to  him.  "  I 
approve,"  says  I,  "of  his  rule,  and  will  practice  it 
with  a  small  addition ;  I  shall  never  ask,  never 
refuse,  nor  ever  resign  an  office.  If  they  will  have 
my  office  of  clerk  to  dispose  of  to  another,  they 
shall  take  it  from  me.  I  will  not,  by  giving  it  up, 
lose  my  right  of  some  time  or  other  making  reprisals 
on  my  adversaries."  I  heard,  however,  no  more  of 
this  ;  I  was  chosen  again  unanimously  as  usual  at 
the   next  election.     Possibly,   as   they  dislik'd    my 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  28 1 

late  intimacy  with  the  members  of  council,  who 
had  join'd  the  governors  in  all  the  disputes  about 
military  preparations,  with  which  the  House  had 
long  been  harass'd,  they  might  have  been  pleas'd 
if  I  would  voluntarily  have  left  them  ;  but  they  did 
not  care  to  displace  me  on  account  merely  of  my 
zeal  for  the  association,  and  they  could  not  well 
give  another  reason. 

Indeed  I  had  some  cause  to  believe  that  the  de- 
fense of  the  country  was  not  disagreeable  to  any  of 
them,  provided  they  were  not  requir'd  to  assist  in 
it.  And  I  found  that  a  much  greater  number 
of  them  than  I  could  have  imagined,  tho'  against 
offensive  war,  were  clearly  for  the  defensive.  Many 
pamphlets  -p?'o  and  con  were  publish'd  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  some  by  good  Quakers,  in  favour  of  de- 
fense, which  I  believe  convinc'd  most  of  their 
younger  people. 

A  transaction  in  our  fire  company  gave  me  some 
insight  into  their  prevailing  sentiments.  It  had  been 
propos'd  that  we  should  encourage  the  scheme  for 
building  a  battery  by  laying  out  the  present  stock, 
then  about  sixty  pounds,  in  tickets  of  the  lottery. 
By  our  rules,  no  money  could  be  dispos'd  of  till  the 
next  meeting  after  the  proposal.  The  company 
consisted  of  thirty  members,  of  which  twenty-two 
were  Quakers,  and  eight  only  of  other  persuasions. 
We  eight  punctually  attended  the  meeting ;  but, 
tho'  we  thought  that  some  of  the  Quakers  would 
join  us,  we  were  by  no  means  sure  of  a  majority. 

24* 


282  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Only  one  Quaker,  Mr.  James  Morris,  appear'd  to 
oppose  the  measure.  He  expressed  much  sorrow 
that  it  had  ever  been  propos'd,  as  he  said  Friends 
were  all  against  it,  and  it  would  create  such  discord 
as  might  break  up  the  company.  We  told  him  that 
we  saw  no  reason  for  that;  we  were  the  minority, 
and  if  Friends  were  against  the  measure,  and  out- 
voted us,  we  must  and  should,  agreeably  to  the 
usage  of  all  societies,  submit.  When  the  hour  for 
business  arriv'd  it  was  mov'd  to  put  the  vote ;  he 
allow'd  we  might  then  do  it  by  the  rules,  but,  as  he 
could  assure  us  that  a  number  of  members  intended 
to  be  present  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  it,  it 
would  be  but  candid  to  allow  a  little  time  for  their 
appearing. 

While  we  were  disputing  this,  a  waiter  came  to 
tell  me  two  gentlemen  below  desir'd  to  speak  with 
me.  I  went  down,  and  found  they  were  two  of  our 
Quaker  members.  They  told  me  there  were  eight 
of  them  assembled  at  a  tavern  just  by ;  that  they 
were  determin'd  to  come  and  vote  with  us  if  there 
should  be  occasion,  which  they  hop'd  would  not 
be  the  case,  and  desir'd  we  would  not  call  for  their 
assistance  if  we  could  do  without  it,  as  their  voting 
for  such  a  measure  might  embroil  them  with  their 
elders  and  friends.  Being  thus  secure  of  a  ma- 
jority, I  went  up,  and  after  a  little  seeming  hesita- 
tion, agreed  to  a  delay  of  another  hour.  This  Mr. 
Morris  allow'd  to  be  extreamly  fair.  Not  One  of  his 
opposing  friends   appear'd,  at  which  he   express'd 


(From  a  painting  in  possession  of  the  Loganian  Library.) 


V 


/ 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  283 

great  surprize  ;  and,  at  the  expiration  of  the  hour, 
we  carry'd  the  resolution  eight  to  one ;  and  as,  of 
the  twenty-two  Quakers,  eight  were  read}  to  vote 
with  us,  and  thirteen,  by  their  absence,  manifested 
that  they  were  not  inclin'd  to  oppose  the  measure, 
I  afterward  estimated  the  proportion  of  Quakers 
sincerely  against  defense  as  one  to  twenty-one  only  ; 
for  these  were  all  regular  members  of  that  society, 
and  in  good  reputation  among  them,  and  had  due 
notice  of  what  was  propos'd  at  that  meeting. 

The  honorable  and  learned  Mr.  Logan,  who  had 
always  been  of  that  sect,  was  one  who  wrote  an 
address  to  them,  declaring  his  approbation  of  defen- 
sive war,  and  supporting  his  opinion  by  many  strong 
arguments.  He  put  into  my  hands  sixty  pounds  to 
be  laid  out  in  lottery  tickets  for  the  battery,  with 
directions  to  apply  what  prizes  might  be  drawn 
wholly  to  that  service.  He  told  me  the  following 
anecdote  of  his  old  master,  William  Penn,  respect- 
ing defense.  He  came  over  from  England,  when  a 
young  man,  with  that  proprietary,  and  as  his  secre- 
tary. It  was  war-time,  and  their  ship  was  chas'd  by 
an  armed  vessel,  suppos'd  to  be  an  enemy.  Their 
captain  prepar'd  for  defense  ;  but  told  William  Penn, 
and  his  company  of  Quakers,  that  he  did  not  expect 
their  assistance,  and  they  might  retire  into  the  cabin, 
which  they  did,  except  James  Logan,  who  chose  to 
stay  upon  deck,  and  was  quarter'd  to  a  gun.  The 
suppos'd  enemy  prov'd  a  friend,  so  there  was  no 
fighting ;  but  when  the  secretary  went  down  to  com- 


284  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

municate  the  intelligence,  William  Penn  rebuk'd 
him  severely  for  staying  upon  deck,  and  undertak- 
ing to  assist  in  defending  the  vessel,  contrary  to  the 
principles  of  Friends,  especially  as  it  had  not  been 
required  by  the  captain.  This  reproof,  being  before 
all  the  company,  piqu'dthe  secretary,  who  answer'd, 
"  /  being  thy  servant,  why  did  thee  not  order  me 
to  come  down  f  But  thee  was  willing  enough  that 
I  should  stay  and  help  to  fight  the  ship  when  thee 
thought  there  was  danger." 

My  being  many  years  in  the  Assembly,  the  ma- 
jority of  which  were  constantly  Quakers,  gave  me 
frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  the  embarrassment 
given  them  by  their  principle  against  war,  when- 
ever application  was  made  to  them,  by  order  of  the 
crown,  to  grant  aids  for  military  purposes.  They 
were  unwilling  to  offend  government,  on  the  one 
hand,  by  a  direct  refusal ;  and  their  friends,  the 
body  of  the  Quakers,  on  the  other,  by  a  compliance 
contrary  to  their  principles ;  hence  a  variety  of  eva- 
sions to  avoid  complying,  and  modes  of  disguising 
the  compliance  when  it  became  unavoidable.  The 
common  mode  at  last  was,  to  grant  money  under 
the  phrase  of  its  being  "for  the  king's  use"  and 
never  to  inquire  how  it  was  applied. 

But,  if  the  demand  was  not  directly  from  the 
crown,  that  phrase  was  found  not  so  proper,  and 
some  other  was  to  be  invented.  As,  when  powdei 
was  wanting  (I  think  it  was  for  the  garrison  at 
Louisburg),  and  the  government  of  New  England 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  285 

solicited  a  grant  of  some  from  Pennsilvania,  which 
was  much  urg'd  on  the  House  by  Governor  Thomas, 
they  could  not  grant  money  to  buy  powder,  because 
that  was  an  ingredient  of  war ;  but  they  voted  an 
aid  to  New  England  of  three  thousand  pounds,  to 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  governor,  and  appro- 
priated it  for  the  purchasing  of  bread,  flour,  wheat, 
or  other  grain.  Some  of  the  council,  desirous  of 
giving  the  House  still  further  embarrassment,  ad- 
vis'd  the  governor  not  to  accept  provision,  as  not 
being  the  thing  he  had  demanded ;  but  he  reply'd, 
"  I  shall  take  the  money,  for  I  understand  very  well 
their  meaning ;  other  grain  is  gunpowder,"  which 
he  accordingly  bought,  and  they  never  objected 
to  it.* 

It  was  in  allusion  to  this  fact  that,  when  in  our 
nre  company  we  feared  the  success  of  our  proposal 
in  favour  of  the  lottery,  and  I  had  said  to  my  friend 
Mr.  Syng,  one  of  our  members,  "  If  we  fail,  let  us 
move  the  purchase  of  a  fire-engine  with  the  money ; 
the  Quakers  can  have  no  objection  to  that :  and 
then,  if  you  nominate  me  and  I  you  as  a  committee 
for  that  purpose,  we  will  buy  a  great  gun,  which  is 
certainly  a  fire-engine"  "  I  see,"  says  he,  "you 
have  improv'd  by  being  so  long  in  the  Assembly  ; 
your  equivocal  project  would  be  just  a  match  for 
their  wheat  or  other  grain" 

These  embarrassments  that  the  Quakers  sufFer'd 


*  See  the  votes. — [Marg.  note.] 


286  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

from  having  establish'd  and  published  it  as  one  of 
their  principles  that  no  kind  of  war  was  lawful,  and 
which,  being  once  published,  they  could  not  after- 
wards, however  they  might  change  their  minds, 
easily  get  rid  of,  reminds  me  of  what  I  think  a  more 
prudent  conduct  in  another  sect  among  us,  that  of 
the  Dunkers.  I  was  acquainted  with  one  of  its 
founders,  Michael  Welfare,  soon  after  it  appear'd. 
He  complain'd  to  me  that  they  were  grievously 
calumniated  by  the  zealots  of  other  persuasions,  and 
charg'd  with  abominable  principles  and  practices,  to 
which  they  were  utter  strangers.  I  told  him  this 
had  always  been  the  case  with  new  sects,  and  that, 
to  put  a  stop  to  such  abuse,  I  imagin'd  it  might  be 
well  to  publish  the  articles  of  their  belief,  and  the 
rules  of  their  discipline.  He  said  that  it  had  been 
propos'd  among  them,  but  not  agreed  to,  for  this 
reason  :  "  When  we  were  first  drawn  together  as  a 
society,"  says  he,  "  it  had  pleased  God  to  enlighten 
our  minds  so  far  as  to  see  that  some  doctrines, 
which  we  once  esteemed  truths,  were  errors  ;  and  that 
others,  which  we  had  esteemed  errors,  were  real 
truths.  From  time  to  time  He  has  been  pleased  to 
afford  us  farther  light,  and  our  principles  have  been 
improving,  and  our  errors  diminishing.  Now  we 
are  not  sure  that  we  are  arrived  at  the  end  of  this 
progression,  and  at  the  perfection  of  spiritual  or 
theological  knowledge ;  and  we  fear  that,  if  we 
should  once  print  our  confession  of  faith,  we  should 
feel  ourselves  as  if  bound  and  confin'd  by  it,  and 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2%J 

perhaps  be  unwilling  to  receive  farther  improve- 
ment, and  our  successors  still  more  so,  as  conceiv- 
ing what  we  their  elders  and  founders  had  done,  to 
be  something  sacred,  never  to  be  departed  from." 

This  modesty  in  a  sect  is  perhaps  a  singular  in- 
stance in  the  history  of  mankind,  every  other  sect 
supposing  itself  in  possession  of  all  truth,  and  that 
those  who  differ  are  so  far  in  the  wrong ;  like  a  man 
traveling  in  foggy  weather,  those  at  some  distance 
before  him  on  the  road  he  sees  wrapped  up  in  the 
fog,  as  well  as  those  behind  him,  and  also  the  people 
in  the  fields  on  each  side,  but  near  him  all  appears 
clear,  tho'  in  truth  he  is  as  much  in  the  fog  as  any 
of  them.  To  avoid  this  kind  of  embarrassment, 
the  Quakers  have  of  late  years  been  gradually  de- 
clining the  public  service  in  the  Assembly  and  in 
the  magistracy,  choosing  rather  to  quit  their  power 
than  their  principle. 

In  order  of  time,  I  should  have  mentioned  before, 
that  having,  in  1742,  invented  an  open  stove  for  the 
better  warming  of  rooms,  and  at  the  same  time  sav- 
ing fuel,  as  the  fresh  air  admitted  was  warmed  in 
entering,  I  made  a  present  of  the  model  to  Mr. 
Robert  Grace,  one  of  my  early  friends,  who,  having 
an  iron-furnace,  found  the  casting  of  the  plates  for 
these  stoves  a  profitable  thing,  as  they  were  grow- 
ing in  demand.  To  promote  that  demand >  I  wrote 
and  published  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "An  Account 
of  the  new-invented  Pennsylvania  Fireplaces; 
wherein  their  Construction  and  Manner  of  Opera- 


288  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

lion  is  -particularly  explained ;  their  Advantages 
above  every  other  Method  of  warming  Rooms  de- 
monstrated; and  all  Objections  that  have  been 
raised  against  the  Use  of  them  answered  and  ob- 
viated" etc.  This  pamphlet  had  a  good  effect. 
Gov'r.  Thomas  was  so  pleas'd  with  the  construction 
of  this  stove,  as  described  in  it,  that  he  offered  to 
give  me  a  patent  for  the  sole  vending  of  them  for  a 
term  of  years ;  but  I  declin'd  it  from  a  principle 
which  has  ever  weighed  with  me  on  such  occasions, 
viz.,  That,  as  we  enjoy  great  advantages  from  the 
inventions  of  others,  we  should  be  glad  of  an  op- 
portunity to  serve  others  by  any  invention  of  ours; 
and  this  we  should  do  freely  and  generously. 

An  ironmonger  in  London  however,  assuming  a. 
good  deal  of  my  pamphlet,  and  working  it  up  into 
his  own,  and  making  some  small  changes  in  the 
machine,  which  rather  hurt  its  operation,  got  a 
patent  for  it  there,  and  made,  as  I  was  told,  a  little 
fortune  by  it.  And  this  is  not  the  only  instance  nf 
patents  taken  out  for  my  inventions  by  others,  tho' 
not  always  with  the  same  success,  which  I  never 
contested,  as  having  no  desire  of  profiting  by  patents 
myself,  and  hating  disputes.  The  use  of  these  fire 
places  in  very  many  houses,  both  of  this  and  the 
neighboring  colonies,  has  been,  and  is,  a  great 
saving  of  wood  to  the  inhabitants. 

Peace  being  concluded,  and  the  association  busi- 
ness therefore  at  an  end,  I  turn'd  my  thoughts  again 
to  the  affair  of  establishing  an  academy.     The  first 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  289 

step  I  took  was  to  associate  in  the  design  a  number 
of  active  friends,  of  whom  the  Junto  furnished  a  good 
part ;  the  next  was  to  write  and  publish  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  Proposals  relating  to  the  Education  of 
Youth  in  Pennsylvania.  This  I  distributed  among 
the  principal  inhabitants  gratis ;  and  as  soon  as  I 
could  suppose  their  minds  a  little  prepared  by  the 
perusal  of  it,  I  set  on  foot  a  subscription  for  opening 
and  supporting  an  academy :  it  was  to  be  paid  in 
quotas  yearly  for  five  years ;  by  so  dividing  it,  I 
judg'd  the  subscription  might  be  larger,  and  I  be- 
lieve it  was  so,  amounting  to  no  less,  if  I  remember 
right,  than  five  thousand  pounds. 

In  the  introduction  to  these  proposals,  I  stated 
their  publication,  not  as  an  act  of  mine,  but  of  some 
■publick-sfirited  gentlemen,  avoiding  as  much  as  I 
could,  according  to  my  usual  rule,  the  presenting 
myself  to  the  publick  as  the  author  of  any  scheme 
for  their  benefit. 

The  subscribers,  to  carry  the  project  into  imme- 
diate execution,  chose  out  of  their  number  twenty- 
four  trustees,  and  appointed  Mr.  Francis,  then  at- 
torney-general, and  myself  to  draw  up  constitutions 
for  the  government  of  the  academy ;  which  being 
done  and  signed,  a  house  was  hired,  masters  en- 
gag'd,  and  the  schools  opened,  I  think,  in  the  same 
year,  1749. 

The  scholars  increasing  fast,  the  house  was  soon 

found  too  small,  and  we  were  looking  out  for  a  piece 

of  ground,  properly  situated,  with  intention  to  build, 
25  n 


290  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

when  Providence  threw  into  our  way  a  large  house 
ready  built,  which,  with  a  few  alterations,  might 
well  serve  our  purpose.  This  was  the  building  be- 
fore  mentioned,  erected  by  the  hearers  of  Mr.  White- 
field,  and  was  obtained  for  us  in  the  following 
manner. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  contributions  to  this 
building  being  made  by  people  of  different  sects, 
care  was  taken  in  the  nomination  of  trustees,  in 
whom  the  building  and  ground  was  to  be  vested, 
that  a  predominancy  should  not  be  given  to  any 
sect,  lest  in  time  that  predominancy  might  be  a 
means  of  appropriating  the  whole  to  the  use  of  such 
sect,  contrary  to  the  original  intention.  It  was  there- 
fore that  one  of  each  sect  was  appointed,  viz.,  one 
Church-of-England  man,  one  Presbyterian,  one 
Baptist,  one  Moravian,  etc.,  those,  in  case  of  va- 
cancy by  death,  were  to  fill  it  by  election  from 
among  the  contributors.  The  Moravian  happen'd 
aot  to  please  his  colleagues,  and  on  his  death  the}/ 
resolved  to  have  no  other  of  that  sect.  The  diffi- 
culty then  was,  how  to  avoid  having  two  of  some 
other  sect,  by  means  of  the  new  choice. 

Several  persons  were  named,  and  for  that  reason 
not  agreed  to.  At  length  one  mention'd  me,  with 
the  observation  that  I  was  merely  an  honest  man, 
and  of  no  sect  at  all,  which  prevail'd  with  them  to 
chuse  me.  The  enthusiasm  which  existed  when 
the  house  was  built  had  long  since  abated,  and  its 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  29 1 

trustees  had  not  been  able  to  procure  fresh  contri- 
butions for  paying  the  ground-rent,  and  discharging 
some  other  debts  the  building  had  occasion'd,  which 
embarrass'd  them  greatly.  Being  now  a  member 
of  both  setts  of  trustees,  that  for  the  building  and 
that  for  the  academy,  I  had  a  good  opportunity  of 
negotiating  with  both,  and  brought  them  finally  to 
an  agreement,  by  which  the  trustees  for  the  building 
were  to  cede  it  to  those  of  the  academy,  the  latter 
undertaking  to  discharge  the  debt,  to  keep  for  ever 
open  in  the  building  a  large  hall  for  occasional 
preachers,  according  to  the  original  intention,  and 
maintain  a  free-school  for  the  instruction  of  poor 
children.  Writings  were  accordingly  drawn,  and 
on  paying  the  debts  the  trustees  of  the  academy 
were  put  in  possession  of  the  premises ;  and  by  di- 
viding the  great  and  lofty  hall  into  stories,  and  dif- 
ferent rooms  above  and  below  for  the  several  schools, 
and  purchasing  some  additional  ground,  the  whole 
was  soon  made  fit  for  our  purpose,  and  the  scholars 
remov'd  into  the  building.  The  care  and  trouble 
of  agreeing  with  the  workmen,  purchasing  materials, 
and  superintending  the  work,  fell  upon  me ;  and  I 
went  thro'  it  the  more  cheerfully,  as  it  did  not  then 
interfere  with  my  private  business,  having  the  year 
before  taken  a  very  able,  industrious,  and  honest 
partner,  Mr.  David  Hall,  with  whose  character  1 
was  well  acquainted,  as  he  had  work'd  for  me  four 
years.  He  took  off  my  hands  all  care  of  the  print- 
ing-office, paying  me  punctually  my  share  of  the 


292  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

profits.     This  partnership  continued  eighteen  years, 
successfully  for  us  both. 

The  trustees  of  the  academy,  after  a  while,  were 
incorporated  by  a  charter  from  the  governor ;  their 
funds  were  increas'd  by  contributions  in  Britain  and 
grants  of  land  from  the  proprietaries,  to  which  the 
Assembly  has  since  made  considerable  addition ; 
and  thus  was  established  the  present  University  of 
Philadelphia.  I  have  been  continued  one  of  its 
trustees  from  the  beginning,  now  near  forty  }^ears, 
and  have  had  the  very  great  pleasure  of  seeing  a 
number  of  the  youth  who  have  receiv'd  their  educa- 
tion in  it,  distinguish'd  by  their  improv'd  abilities, 
serviceable  in  public  stations,  and  ornaments  to  their 
country.* 

When  I  disengaged  myself,  as  above  mentioned, 
from  private  business,  I  flatter'd  myself  that,  by  the 
sufficient  tho'  moderate  fortune  I  had  acquir'd,  I  had 
secured  leisure  during  the  rest  of  my  life  for  philo- 
sophical studies  and  amusements.      I   purchased  all 
Dr.  Spence's  apparatus,  who  had  come  from  Eng 
land  to  lecture  here,  and  I  proceeded  in   my  elec 
trical  experiments  with  great  alacrity  ;  but  the  pub 
lick,  now  considering  me   as  a  man  of  leisure,  laid 
hold  of  me  for  their  purposes,   every  part  of  out 


*  The  old  "Academy,"  as  the  building  of  which  Franklin  speaks  was> 
called,  has  given  place  to  a  new  and  tasteful  edifice.  For  many  years 
the  new  building  had  been  occupied  as  an  academy,  preparatory  to  the 
University,  commodious  buildings  for  which  were  erected  in  South 
*.rinth  street,  near  Chestnut. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  293 

ci/il  government,  and  almost  at  the  same  time,  im- 
posing some  duty  upon  me.  The  governor  put  me 
into  the  commission  of  the  peace ;  the  corpora- 
tion of  the  city  chose  me  of  the  common  council, 
and  soon  after  an  alderman  ;  and  the  citizens  at 
large  chose  me  a  burgess  to  represent  them  in 
Assembly.  This  latter  station  was  the  more  agree- 
able to  me,  as  I  was  at  length  tired  with  sitting  there 
to  hear  debates,  in  which,  as  clerk,  I  could  take  no 
part,  and  which  were  often  so  unentertaining  that  I 
was  induc'd  to  amuse  myself  with  making  magic 
squares  or  circles,  or  any  thing  to  avoid  weariness ; 
and  I  conceiv'd  my  becoming  a  member  would 
enlarge  my  power  of  doing  good.  I  would  not, 
however,  insinuate  that  my  ambition  was  not  flatter'd 
by  all  these  promotions ;  it  certainly  was ;  for,  con- 
sidering my  low  beginning,  they  were  great  things 
to  me ;  and  they  were  still  more  pleasing,  as  being 
so  many  spontaneous  testimonies  of  the  public  good 
opinion,  and  by  me  entirely  unsolicited. 

The  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  I  try'd  a  little, 
by  attending  a  few  courts,  and  sitting  on  the  bench 
to  hear  causes-;  but  finding  that  more  knowledge  of 
the  common  law  than  I  possess'd  was  necessary  to 
act  in  that  station  with  credit,  I  gradually  withdrew 
from  it,  excusing  myself  by  my  being  oblig'd  to 
attend  the  higher  duties  of  a  legislator  in  the  As- 
sembly. My  election  to  this  trust  was  repeated 
every  year  for  ten  years,  without  my  ever  asking 
any  elector  for  his  vote,  or  signifying,  either  directly 

25* 


294  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

or  indirectly,  any  desire  of  being  chosen.  On  tak- 
ing my  seat  in  the  House,  my  son  was  appointed 
their  clerk. 

The  year  following,  a  treaty  being  to  be  held  with 
the  Indians  at  Carlisle,  the  governor  sent  a  message 
to  the  House,  proposing  that  they  should  nominate 
some  of  their  members,  to  be  join'd  with  some 
members  of  council,  as  commissioners  for  that  pur- 
pose.* The  House  named  the  speaker  (Mr,  Nor- 
ris)  and  myself;  and,  being  commission'd,  we  went 
to  Carlisle,  and  met  the  Indians  accordingly. 

As  those  people  are  extreamly  apt  to  get  drunk, 
and,  when  so,  are  very  quarrelsome  and  disorderly, 
we  strictly  forbad  the  selling  any  liquor  to  them ; 
and  when  they  complain'd  of  this  restriction,  we 
told  them  that  if  they  would  continue  sober  during 
the  treaty,  we  would  give  them  plenty  of  rum  when 
business  was  over.  They  promis'd  this,  and  they 
kept  their  promise,  because  they  could  get  no  liquor, 
and  the  treaty  was  conducted  very  orderly,  and  con- 
cluded to  mutual  satisfaction.  They  then  claim'd 
and  receiv'd  the  rum ;  this  was  in  the  afternoon : 
they  were  near  one  hundred  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, and  were  lodg'd  in  temporary  cabins,  built  in 
the  form  of  a  square,  just  without  the  town.  In  the 
evening,  hearing  a  great  noise  among  them,  the 
commissioners  walk'd  out  to  see  what  was  the 
matter.     We  found  they  had  made  a  great  bonfire 


*  See  the  votes  to  have  this  more  correctly. — {Marg.   wte.~\ 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  2Cj$ 

in  the  middle  of  the  square;  they  were  all  drunk, 
men  and  women,  quarreling  and  fighting.  Their 
dark-colour'd  bodies,  half  naked,  seen  only  by  the 
gloomy  light  of  the  bonfire,  running  after  and  beat- 
ing one  another  with  firebrands,  accompanied  by 
their  horrid  yellings,  form'd  a  scene  the  most  resem- 
bling our  ideas  of  hell  that  could  well  be  imagin'd ; 
there  was  no  appeasing  the  tumult,  and  we  retired 
to  our  lodging.  At  midnight  a  number  of  them 
came  thundering  at  our  door,  demanding  more  rum, 
of  which  we  took  no  notice. 

The  next  day,  sensible  they  had  misbehav'd  in 
giving  us  that  disturbance,  they  sent  three  of  their 
old  counselors  to  make  their  apology.  The  orator 
acknowledg'd  the  fault,  but  laid  it  upon  the  rum ; 
and  then  endeavored  to  excuse  the  rum  by  saying, 
"The  Great  Spirit,  who  made  all  things,  made 
every  thing  for  some  use,  and  whatever  use  he  de- 
signed any  thing  for,  that  use  it  should  always  be 
■put  to.  Now,  when  he  made  rum,  he  said,  ''Let 
this  be  for  the  Indians  to  get  drunk  with?  and  it 
must  be  so."  And,  indeed,  if  it  be  the  design  of 
Providence  to  extirpate  these  savages  in  order  to 
make  room  for  cultivators  of  the  earth,  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  rum  may  be  the  appointed  means. 
It  has  already  annihilated  all  the  tribes  who  formerly 
inhabited  the  sea-coast. 

In  1 75 1,  Dr.  Thomas  Bond,  a  particular  friend 
of  mine,  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  a  hos- 
pital  in    Philadelphia    (a  very    beneficent   design, 


296  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

which  has  been  ascrib'd  to  me,  but  was  originally 
his),  for  the  reception  and  cure  of  poor  sick  persons, 
whether  inhabitants  of  the  province  or  strangers. 
He  was  zealous  and  active  in  endeavouring  to  pro- 
cure subscriptions  for  it,  but  the  proposal  being  a 
novelty  in  America,  and  at  first  not  well  understood, 
he  met  but  with  small  success. 

At  length  he  came  to  me  with  the  compliment 
that  he  found  there  was  no  such  thing  as  carrying 
a  public-spirited  project  through  without  my  being 
concern'd  in  it.  "  For,"  says  he,  "I  am  often  ask'd 
by  those  to  whom  I  propose  subscribing,  Have  you 
consulted  Franklin  upon  this  business?  And  what 
does  he  think  of  it?  And  when  I  tell  them  that  I 
have  not  (supposing  it  rather  out  of  your  line) ,  they 
do  not  subscribe,  but  say  they  will  consider  of  it." 
I  enquired  into  the  nature  and  probable  utility  of  his 
scheme,  and  receiving  from  him  a  very  satisfactory 
explanation,  I  not  only  subscrib'd  to  it  myself,  but 
engag'd  heartily  in  the  design  of  procuring  sub- 
scriptions from  others.  Previously,  however,  to  the 
solicitation,  I  endeavoured  to  prepare  the  minds  of 
the  people  by  writing  on  the  subject  in  the  news- 
papers, which  was  my  usual  custom  in  such  cases, 
but  which  he  had  omitted. 

The  subscriptions  afterwards  were  more  free  and 
generous ;  but,  beginning  to  flag,  I  saw  they  would 
be  insufficient  without  some  assistance  from  the  As- 
sembly, and  therefore  propos'd  to  petition  for  it, 
which  was  done.     The  country  members  did  not  at 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  29; 

first  relish  the  project ;  they  objected  that  it  could 
only  be  serviceable  to  the  city,  and  therefore  the 
citizens  alone  should  be  at  the  expense  of  it ;  and 
they  doubted  whether  the  citizens  themselves  gen- 
erally approv'd  of  it.  My  allegation  on  the  con- 
trary, that  it  met  with  such  approbation  as  to  leave 
no  doubt  of  our  being  able  to  raise  two  thousand 
pounds  by  voluntary  donations,  they  considered  as 
a  most  extravagant  supposition,  and  utterly  impos- 
sible. 

On  this  I  form'd  my  plan ;  and,  asking  leave  to 
bring  in  a  bill  for  incorporating  the  contributors  ac- 
cording to  the  prayer  of  their  petition,  and  granting 
them  a  blank  sum  of  money,  which  leave  was  ob- 
tained chiefly  on  the  consideration  that  the  House 
could  throw  the  bill  out  if  they  did  not  like  it,  I 
drew  it  so  as  to  make  the  important  clause  a  condi- 
tional one,  viz.,  "  And  be  it  enacted,  by  the  autho- 
rity aforesaid,  that  when  the  said  contributors  shall 
have  met  and  chosen  their  managers  and  treasurer, 
and  shall  have  raised  by  their  contributions  a  capi- 
tal stock  of ■-  value   (the  yearly  interest  of 

which  is  to  be  applied  to  the  accommodating  of 
the  sick  poor  in  the  said  hospital,  free  of  charge 
for  diet,  attendance,  advice,  and  medicines),  and 
shall  make  the  same  af^pear  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  speaker  of  the  Assembly  for  the  time  being, 
that  then  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  said 
speaker,  and  he  is  hereby  required,  to  sign  an  order 
on  the  provincial  treasurer  for  the  payment  of  two 


298  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

thousand  pounds,  in  two  yearly  payments,  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  said  hospital,  to  be  applied  to  the 
founding,  building,  and  finishing  of  the  same." 

This  condition  carried  the  bill  through  ;  for  the 
members,  who  had  oppos'd  the  grant,  and  now  con 
r.eiv'd  they  might  have  the  credit  of  being  charita- 
ble without  the  expence,  agreed  to  its  passage  ;  and 
then,  in  soliciting  subscriptions  among  the  people, 
we  urg'd  the  conditional  promise  of  the  law  as  an 
additional  motive  to  give,  since  every  man's  dona- 
tion would  be  doubled ;  thus  the  clause  work'd  both 
ways.  The  subscriptions  accordingly  soon  exceed- 
ed the  requisite  sum,  and  we  claim'd  and  receiv'd 
the  public  gift,  which  enabled  us  to  carry  the  design 
into  execution.  A  convenient  and  handsome  build- 
ing was  soon  erected ;  the  institution  has  by  constant 
experience  been  found  useful,  and  flourishes  to  this 
day ;  and  I  do  not  remember  any  of  my  political 
manoeuvres,  the  success  of  which  gave  me  at  the 
time  more  pleasure,  or  wherein,  after  thinking  of  it, 
1  more  easily  excus'd  myself  for  having  made  some 
use  of  cunning. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  another  projector, 
the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent,  came  to  me  with  a  re- 
quest that  I  would  assist  him  in  procuring  a  sub- 
scription for  erecting  a  new  meeting-house.  It  was 
to  be  for  the  use  of  a  congregation  he  had  gathered 
among  the  Presbyterians,  who  were  originally  dis- 
ciples of  Mr.  Whitefield.  Unwilling  to  make  my- 
self disagreeable  to  my  fellow-citizens  by  too  fre- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  299 

quently  soliciting  their  contributions,  I  absolutely 
refus'd.  He  then  desired  I  would  furnish  him  with 
a  list  of  the  names  of  persons  I  knew  by  experience 
to  be  generous  and  public-spirited.  I  thought  it 
would  be  unbecoming  in  me,  after  their  kind  com- 
pliance with  my  solicitations,  to  mark  them  out  to 
be  worried  by  other  beggars,  and  therefore  refus'd 
also  to  give  such  a  list.  He  then  desir'd  I  would 
at  least  give  him  my  advice.  "  That  I  will  readily 
do,"  said  I ;  "  and,  in  the  first  place,  I  advise  you  to 
apply  to  all  those  whom  you  know  will  give  some- 
thing ;  next,  to  those  whom  you  are  uncertain 
whether  they  will  give  any  thing  or  not,  and  show 
them  the  list  of  those  who  have  given;  and,  lastly, 
do  not  neglect  those  who  you  are  sure  will  give 
nothing,  for  in  some  of  them  you  may  be  mistaken." 
He  laugh'd  and  thank'd  me,  and  said  he  would  take 
my  advice.  He  did  so,  for  he  ask'd  of  everybody ', 
and  he  obtain'd  a  much  larger  sum  than  he  expected, 
with  which  he  erected  the  capacious  and  very  ele- 
gant meeting-house  that  stands  in  Arch-street. 

Our  city,  tho'  laid  out  with  a  beautifull  regularity; 
the  streets  large,  strait,  and  crossing  each  othei 
at  right  angles,  had  the  disgrace  of  suffering  those 
streets  to  remain  long  unpav'd,  and  in  wet  weather 
the  wheels  of  heavy  carriages  plough'd  them  into  a 
quagmire,  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  cross  them  ;  and 
in  dry  weather  the  dust  was  offensive.  I  had  liv'd 
near  what  was  eall'd  the  Jersey  Market,  and  saw 
with   pain   the    inhabitants    wading    in    mud   while 


30O  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

purchasing  their  provisions.  A  strip  of  ground 
down  the  middle  of  that  market  was  at  length  pav'd 
with  brick,  so  that,  being  once  in  the  market,  they 
had  firm  footing,  but  were  often  over  shoes  in  dirt 
to  get  there.  By  talking  and  writing  on  the  subject, 
I  was  at  length  instrumental  in  getting  the  street 
pav'd  with  stone  between  the  market  and  the  brick'd 
foot-pavement,  that  was  on  each  side  next  the 
houses.  This,  for  some  time,  gave  an  easy  access 
to  the  market  dry-shod ;  but,  the  rest  of  the  street 
not  being  pav'd,  whenever  a  carriage  came  out  of 
the  mud  upon  this  pavement,  it  shook  off  and  left 
its  dirt  upon  it,  and  it  was  soon  cover'd  with  mire, 
which  was  not  remov'd,  the  city  as  yet  having  no 
scavengers. 

After  some  inquiry,  I  found  a  poor,  industrious 
man,  who  was  willing  to  undertake  keeping  the 
pavement  clean,  by  sweeping  it  twice  a  week,  carry- 
ing off  the  dirt  from  before  all  the  neighbours'  doors, 
for  the  sum  of  sixpence  per  month,  to  be  paid  by 
each  house.  I  then  wrote  and  printed  a  paper 
setting  forth  the  advantages  to  the  neighbourhood 
that  might  be  obtain'd  by  this  small  expense ;  the 
greater  ease  in  keeping  our  houses  clean,  so  much 
dirt  not  being  brought  in  by  people's  feet ;  the  bene- 
fit to  the  shops  by  more  custom,  etc.,  etc.,  as  buyers 
could  more  easily  get  at  them  ;  and  by  not  having, 
in  windy  weather,  the  dust  blown  in  upon  their 
goods,  etc.,  etc.  I  sent  one  of  these  papers  to  each 
house,  and  in  a  day  or  two  went  round  to  see  who 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  30 1 

would  subscribe  an  agreement  to  pay  these  six- 
pences ;  it  was  unanimously  sign'd,  and  for  a  time 
well  executed.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were 
delighted  with  the  cleanliness  of  the  pavement  that 
surrounded  the  market,  it  being  a  convenience  to 
all,  and  this  rais'd  a  general  desire  to  have  all  the 
streets  paved,  and  made  the  people  more  willing  to 
submit  to  a  tax  for  that  purpose. 

After  some  time  I  drew  a  bill  for  paving  the  city, 
and  brought  it  into  the  Assembly.  It  was  just  be- 
fore I  went  to  England,  in  1757,  and  did  not  pass 
till  I  was  gone,*  and  then  with  an  alteration  in  the 
mode  of  assessment,  which  I  thought  not  for  the 
better,  but  with  an  additional  provision  for  lighting 
as  well  as  paving  the  streets,  which  was  a  great  im- 
provement. It  was  by  a  private  person,  the  late 
Mr.  John  Clifton,  his  giving  a  sample  of  the  utility 
of  lamps,  by  placing  one  at  his  door,  that  the  people 
were  first  impress'd  with  the  idea  of  enlighting  all  the 
city.  The  honour  of  this  public  benefit  has  also  been 
ascrib'd  to  me,  but  it  belongs  truly  to  that  gentle- 
man. I  did  but  follow  his  example,  and  have  only 
some  merit  to  claim  respecting  the  form  of  our 
lamps,  as  differing  from  the  globe  lamps  we  were 
at  first  supply 'd  with  from  London.  Those  we 
found  inconvenient  in  these  respects  :  they  admitted 
no  air  below  ;  the  smoke,  therefore,  did  not  readily 
go  out  aoove,  but  circulated  in  the  globe,  lodg'd  on 


*  See  votes. 
26 


302  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

its  inside,  and  soon  obstructed  the  light  they  were 
intended  to  afford ;  giving,  besides,  the  daily  trouble 
of  wiping  them  clean ;  and  an  accidental  stroke  on 
one  of  them  would  demolish  it,  and  render  it  totally 
useless.  I  therefore  suggested  the  composing  them 
of  four  flat  panes,  with  a  long  funnel  above  to  draw 
up  the  smoke,  and  crevices  admitting  air  below,  to 
facilitate  the  ascent  of  the  smoke ;  by  this  means 
they  were  kept  clean,  and  did  not  grow  dark  in  a 
few  hours,  as  the  London  lamps  do,  but  continu'd 
bright  till  morning,  and  an  accidental  stroke  would 
generally  break  but  a  single  pane,  easily  repair'd. 

I  have  sometimes  wonder'd  that  the  Londoners 
did  not,  from  the  effect  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
globe  lamps  us'd  at  Vauxhall  have  in  keeping  them 
clean,  learn  to  have  such  holes  in  their  street  lamps. 
But,  these  holes  being  made  for  another  purpose, 
viz.,  to  communicate  flame  more  suddenly  to  the 
wick  by  a  little  flax  hanging  down  thro'  them,  the 
other  use,  of  letting  in  air,  seems  not  to  have  been 
thought  of;  and  therefore,  after  the  lamps  have  been 
lit  a  few  hours,  the  streets  of  London  are  very 
poorly  illuminated. 

The  mention  of  these  improvements  puts  me  ill 
mind  of  one  1  propos'd,  when  in  London,  to  Dr. 
Fothergill,  who  was  among  the  best  men  I  have 
known,  and  a  great  promoter  of  useful  projects.  I 
had  observ'd  that  the  streets,  when  dry,  were  never 
swept,  and  the  light  dust  carried  away  ;  but  it  was 
suffer'd  to  accumulate  till  wet  weather  reduc'd  it  to 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  303 

mud,  and  then,  after  lying  some  days  so  deep  on 
the  pavement  that  there  was  no  crossing  but  in  paths 
kept  clean  by  poor  people  with  brooms,  it  was  with 
great  labour  rak'd  together  and  thrown  up  into  carts 
open  above,  the  sides  of  which  suffer'd  some  of  the 
slush  at  every  jolt  on  the  pavement  to  shake  out 
and  fall,  sometimes  to  the  annoyance  of  foot-pas- 
sengers. The  reason  given  for  not  sweeping  the 
dusty  streets  was,  that  the  dust  would  fly  into  the 
windows  of  shops  and  houses. 

An  accidental  occurrence  had  instructed  me  how 
much  sweeping  might  be  done  in  a  little  time.  I 
found  at  my  door  in  Craven-street,  one  morning,  a 
poor  woman  sweeping  my  pavement  with  a  birch 
broom ;  she  appeared  very  pale  and  feeble,  as  just 
come  out  of  a  fit  of  sickness.  I  ask'd  who  employ'd 
her  to  sweep  there ;  she  said,  "  Nobody ;  but  I  am 
very  poor  and  in  distress,  and  I  sweeps  before  gen- 
tlefolkses  doors,  and  hopes  they  will  give  me  some- 
thing." I  bid  her  sweep  the  whole  street  clean,  and 
I  would  give  her  a  shilling  ;  this  was  at  nine  o'clock  $ 
at  12  she  came  for  the  shilling.  From  the  slow- 
ness I  saw  at  first  in  her  working,  I  could  scarce 
believe  that  the  work  was  done  so  soon,  and  sent 
my  servant  to  examine  it,  who  reported  that  the 
whole  street  was  swept  perfectly  clean,  and  all  the 
dust  plac'd  in  the  gutter,  which  was  in  the  middle ; 
and  the  next  rain  wash'd  it  quite  away,  so  that  the 
pavement  and  even  the  kennel  were  perfectly 
clean. 


304  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  then  judg'd  that,  if  that  feeble  woman  could 
sweep  such  a  street  in  three  hours,  a  strong,  active 
man  might  have  done  it  in  half  the  time.  And  heie 
let  me  remark  the  convenience  of  having  but  one 
gutter  in  such  a  narrow  street,  running  down  its 
middle,  instead  of  two,  one  on  each  side,  near  the 
footway ;  for  where  all  the  rain  that  falls  on  a  street 
runs  from  the  sides  and  meets  in  the  middle,  it  forms 
there  a  current  strong  enough  to  wash  away  all  the 
mud  it  meets  with  ;  but  when  divided  into  two  chan- 
nels, it  is  often  too  weak  to  cleanse  either,  and  only 
makes  the  mud  it  finds  more  fluid,  so  that  the 
wheels  of  carriages  and  feet  of  horses  throw  and 
dash  it  upon  the  foot-pavement,  which  is  thereby 
rendered  foul  and  slippery,  and  sometimes  splash  it 
upon  those  who  are  walking.  My  proposal,  com- 
municated to  the  good  doctor,  was  as  follows : 

"  For  the  more  effectual  cleaning  and  keeping 
clean  the  streets  of  London  and  Westminster,  it  is 
proposed  that  the  several  watchmen  be  contracted 
with  to  have  the  dust  swept  up  in  dry  seasons,  and 
the  mud  rak'd  up  at  other  times,  each  in  the  several 
streets  and  lanes  of  his  round ;  that  they  be  furnish'd 
with  brooms  and  other  proper  instruments  for  these 
purposes,  to  be  kept  at  their  respective  stands,  ready 
to  furnish  the  poor  people  they  may  employ  in  the 
service. 

"  That  in  the  dry  summer  months  the  dust  be  all 
swept  up  into  heaps  at  proper  distances,  before  the 
shops  and  windows  of  houses  are  usually  opened 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  305 

when  the  scavengers,  with  close-covered  carts,  shah 
also  carry  it  all  away. 

"  That  the  mud,  when  rak'd  up,  be  not  left  in 
heaps  to  be  spread  abroad  again  by  the  wheels  of 
carriages  and  trampling  of  horses,  but  that  the  scav- 
engers be  provided  with  bodies  of  carts,  not  plac'd 
high  upon  wheels,  but  low  upon  sliders,  with  lattice 
bottoms,  which,  being  cover'd  with  straw,  will  re- 
tain the  mud  thrown  into  them,  and  permit  the 
water  to  drain  from  it,  whereby  it  will  become  much 
lighter,  water  making  the  greatest  part  of  its  weight ; 
these  bodies  of  carts  to  be  plac'd  at  convenient 
distances,  and  the  mud  brought  to  them  in  wheel- 
barrows ;  they  remaining  where  plac'd  till  the  mud 
is  drain'd,  and  then  horses  brought  to  draw  them 
away." 

I  have  since  had  doubts  of  the  practicability  of 
the  latter  part  of  this  proposal,  on  account  of  the 
narrowness  of  some  streets,  and  the  difficulty  of 
placing  the  draining-sleds  so  as  not  to  encumber  too 
much  the  passage ;  but  I  am  still  of  opinion  that 
the  former,  requiring  the  dust  to  be  swept  up  and 
carry'd  away  before  the  shops  are  open,  is  very 
practicable  in  the  summer,  when  the  days  are  long ; 
for,  in  walking  thro'  the  Strand  and  Fleet-street  one 
morning  at  seven  o'clock,  I  observ'd  there  was  not 
one  shop  open,  tho'  it  had  been  daylight  and  the 
sun  up  above  three  hours  ;  the  inhabitants  of  London 
chusing  voluntarily  to  live  much  by  candle-light, 
and  sleep  by  sunshine,  and  yet  often  complain,  a 

26* 


306  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

littl^  absurdly,  of  the  duty  on  candles,  and  the  high 
price  of  tallow. 

Some  may  think  these  trifling  matters  not  worth 
minding  or  relating ;  but  when  they  consider  that 
tho'  dust  blown  into  the  eyes  of  a  single  person, 
or  into  a  single  shop  on  a  windy  day,  is  but  of  small 
importance,  yet  the  great  number  of  the  instances 
in  a  populous  city,  and  its  frequent  repetitions  give  it 
weight  and  consequence,  perhaps  they  will  not  cen- 
sure very  severely  those  who  bestow  some  attention 
to  affairs  of  this  seemingly  low  nature.  Human 
felicity  is  produc'd  not  so  much  by  great  pieces  of 
\  good  fortune  that  seldom  happen,  as  by  little  advan- 
f  tages  that  occur  every  day.  Thus,  if  you  teach  a 
poor  young  man  to  shave  himself,  and  keep  his 
razor  in  order,  you  may  contribute  more  to  the  hap- 
piness of  his  life  than  in  giving  him  a  thousand 
guineas.  The  money  may  be  soon  spent,  the  regret 
only  remaining  of  having  foolishly  consumed  it ; 
but  in  the  other  case,  he  escapes  the  frequent  vexa- 
tion of  waiting  for  barbers,  and  of  their  sometimes 
dirty  fingers,  offensive  breaths,  and  dull  razors ;  he 
shaves  when  most  convenient  to  him,  and  enjoys 
daily  the  pleasure  of  its  being  done  with  a  good 
instrument.  With  these  sentiments  I  have  hazarded 
the  few  preceding  pages,  hoping  they  may  afford 
hints  which  some  time  or  other  may  be  useful  to  a 
city  I  love,  having  lived  many  years  in  it  very 
happily,  and  perhaps  to  some  of  our  towns  in 
America. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  307 

Having  been  for  some  time  employed  by  the  post- 
master-general of  America  as  his  comptroller  in 
regulating  several  offices,  and  bringing  the  officers 
to  account,  I  was,  upon  his  death  in  1753,  appointed, 
jointly  with  Mr.  William  Hunter,  to  succeed  him, 
by  a  commission  from  the  postmaster-general  in 
England.  The  American  office  never  had  hitherto 
paid  any  thing  to  that  of  Britain.  We  were  to  have 
six  hundred  pounds  a  year  between  us,  if  we  could 
make  that  sum  out  of  the  profits  of  the  office.  To 
do  this,  a  variety  of  improvements  were  necessary ; 
some  of  these  were  inevitably  at  first  expensive,  so 
that  in  the  first  four  years  the  office  became  above 
nine  hundred  pounds  in  debt  to  us.  But  it  soon 
after  began  to  repay  us ;  and  before  I  was  displac'd 
by  a  freak  of  the  ministers,  of  which  I  shaJU  speak 
hereafter,  we  had  brought  it  to  yield  three  times  as 
much  clear  revenue  to  the  crown  as  the  postoffice 
of  Ireland.  Since  that  imprudent  transaction,  they 
have  receiv'd  from  it — not  one  farthing  ! 

The  business  of  the  postoffice  occasion'd  my 
taking  a  journey  this  year  to  New  England,  where 
the  College  of  Cambridge,  of  their  own  motion,  pre- 
sented me  with  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  Yale 
College,  in  Connecticut,  had  before  made  me  a 
similar  compliment.  Thus,  without  studying  in  any 
college,  I  came  to  partake  of  their  honours.  They 
were  conferr'd  in  consideration  of  my  improvements 
and  discoveries  in  the  electric  branch  of  natural  phi- 
losophy. 


308  AUTOBIOGRAPHr  OF 

In  1754,  war  w^n  France  being  again  appre- 
hended, a  congress  of  commissioners  from  the  differ- 
ent colonies  was,  by  an  order  of  the  Lords  of  Trade, 
to  be  assembled  at  Albany,  there  to  confer  with  the 
chiefs  of  the- Six  Nations  concerning  the  means  of 
defending  both  their  country  and  ours.  Governor 
Hamilton,  having  receiv'd  this  order,  acquainted  the 
House  with  it,  requesting  they  would  furnish  proper 
presents  for  the  Indians,  to  be  given  on  this  occa- 
sion ;  and  naming  the  speaker  (Mr.  Norris)  and 
myself  to  join  Mr.  Thomas  Penn  and  Mr.  Secretary 
Peters  as  commissioners  to  act  for  Pennsylvania. 
The  House  approv'd  the  nomination,  and  provided 
the  goods  for  the  present,  and  tho'  they  did  not  much 
like  treating  out  of  the  provinces ;  and  we  met  the 
other  commissioners  at  Albany  about  the  middle  of 
June. 

In  our  way  thither,  I  projected  and  drew  a  plan 
for  the  union  of  all  the  colonies  under  one  govern- 
ment, so  far  as  might  be  necessary  for  defense,  and 
other  important  general  purposes.  As  we  pass'd 
thro'  New  York,  I  had  there  shown  my  project  to 
Mr.  James  Alexander  and  Mr.  Kennedy,  two  gen- 
tlemen of  great  knowledge  in  public  affairs,  and, 
being  fortified  by  their  approbation,  I  ventur'd  to 
lay  it  before  the  Congress.  It  then  appeared  that 
several  of  the  commissioners  had  form'd  plans  of 
the  same  kind.  A  previous  question  was  first  taken, 
whether  a  union  should  be  established,  which  pass'd 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  309 

in  the  affirmative  unanimously.  A  committee  was 
then  appointed,  one  member  from  each  colony,  to 
consider  the  several  plans  and  report.  Mine  hap- 
pen'd  to  be  preferr'd,  and,  with  a  few  amendments, 
was  accordingly  reported. 

By  this  plan  the  general  government  was  to  be 
administered  by  a  president-general,  appointed  and 
supported  by  the  crown,  and  a  grand  council  was 
to  be  chosen  by  the  representatives  of  the  people 
of  the  several  colonies,  met  in  their  respective  as- 
semblies. The  debates  upon  it  in  Congress  went 
on  daily,  hand  in  hand  with  the  Indian  business. 
Many  objections  and  difficulties  were  started,  but  at 
length  they  were  all  overcome,  and  the  plan  was 
unanimously  agreed  to,  and  copies  ordered  to  be 
transmitted  to  the  Board  of  Trade  and  to  the  assem- 
blies of  the  several  provinces.  Its  fate  was  singu- 
lar :  the  assemblies  did  not  adopt  it,  as  they  all 
thought  there  was  too  much  -prerogative  in  it,  and 
in  England  it  was  judg'd  to  have  too  much  of  the 
democratic.  The  Board  of  Trade  therefore  did  not 
approve  of  it,  nor  recommend  it  for  the  approbation 
of  his  majesty ;  but  another  scheme  was  form'd, 
supposed  to  answer  the  same  purpose  better,  where- 
by the  governors  of  the  provinces,  with  some  mem- 
bers of  their  respective  councils,  were  to  meet  and 
order  the  raising  of  troops,  building  of  forts,  etc., 
and  to  draw  on  the  treasury  of  Great  Britain  for  the 
expense,  which  was  afterwards  to  be  refunded  by 
an  act  of  Parliament  laying  a  tax  on  America.     My 


3IO  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

plan,  with  my  reasons  in  support  of  it,  is  to  be  found 
among  my  political  papers  that  are  printed.* 

Being  the  winter  following  in  Boston,  I  had  much 
conversation  with  Governor  Shirley  upon  both  the 
plans.  Part  of  what  passed  between  us  on  the  oc- 
casion may  also  be  seen  among  those  papers.  The 
different  and  contrary  reasons  of  dislike  to  my  plan 
makes  me  suspect  that  it  was  really  the  true  me- 
dium ;  and  I  am  still  of  opinion  it  would  have  been 
happy  for  both  sides  the  water  if  it  had  been  adopted. 
The  colonies,  so  united,  would  have  been  sufficiently 
strong  to  have  defended  themselves ;  there  would 
then  have  been  no  need  of  troops  from  England ; 
of  course,  the  subsequent  pretence  for  taxing  Ame- 
rica, and  the  bloody  contest  it  occasioned,  would 
have  been  avoided.  But  such  mistakes  are  not 
new :  history  is  full  of  the  errors  of  states  and 
princes. 

"  Look  round  the  habitable  world,  how  few 
Know  their  own  good,  or,  knowing  it,  pursue  !" 

Those  who  govern,  having  much  business  on 
their  hands,  do  not  generally  like  to  take  the  trouble 
of  considering  and  carrying  into  execution  new 
projects.  The  best  public  measures  are  therefore 
seldom  adopted  from  -previous  wisdom,  but  ford d 
by  the  occasion. 

The  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  in  sending  it 
down  to  the  Assembly,   express'd  his  approbation 


See  Sparks'  Works  of  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  pp.  22-55. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  3  1 1 

of  the  plan,  "  as  appearing  to  him  to  be  drawn  up 
with  great  clearness  and  strength  of  judgment,  and 
therefore  recommended  it  as  well  worthy  of  their 
closest  and  most  serious  attention."  The  House, 
however,  by  the  management  of  a  certain  member, 
took  it  up  when  I  happen'd  to  be  absent,  which  I 
thought  not  very  fair,  and  reprobated  it  without 
paying  any  attention  to  it  at  all,  to  my  no  small 
mortification. 

In  my  journey  to  Boston  this  year,  I  met  at  New 
York  with  our  new  governor,  Mr.  Morris,  just 
arriv'd  there  from  England,  with  whom  I  had  been 
before  intimately  acquainted.  He  brought  a  com- 
mission to  supersede  Mr.  Hamilton,  who,  tir'd  with 
the  disputes  his  proprietary  instructions  subjected 
him  to,  had  resign'd.  Mr.  Morris  ask'd  me  if  I 
thought  he  must  expect  as  uncomfortable  an  admin- 
istration. I  said,  "No;  you  may,  on  the  contrary, 
have  a  very  comfortable  one,  if  you  will  only  take 
care  not  to  enter  into  any  dispute  with  the  Assem- 
bly." "My  dear  friend,"  says  he,  pleasantly,  "how 
can  you  advise  my  avoiding  disputes?  You  know 
I  love  disputing  ;  it  is  one  of  my  greatest  pleasures  ; 
however,  to  show  the  regard  I  have  for  your  coun- 
sel, I  promise  you  I  will,  if  possible,  avoid  them." 
He  had  some  reason  for  loving  to  dispute,  being 
eloquent,  an  acute  sophister,  and,  therefore,  gene- 
rally successful  in  argumentative  conversat!  m.  He 
had  been  brought  up  to  it  from  a  boy,  his  father,  as 
I  have  heard,  accustoming  his  children  to  dispute 


312  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

with  one  another  for  his  diversion,  while  sitting  at 

table  after  dinner ;  but  I  think  the  practice  was  not 

I  wise ;  for,  in  the  course  of  my  observation,  these 

I  disputing,  contradicting,  and  confuting  people  are 

|  generally  unfortunate  in  their  affairs.      They  get 

victory  sometimes,  but  they  never  get  good  will, 

which  would  be  of  more  use  to  them.     We  parted, 

he  going  to  Philadelphia,  and  I  to  Boston. 

In  returning,  I  met  at  New  York  with  the  votes 
of  the  Assembly,  by  which  it  appear'd  that,  notwith- 
standing his  promise  to  me,  he  and  the  House  were 
already  in  high  contention ;  and  it  was  a  continual 
battle  between  them  as  long  as  he  retain'd  the  gov- 
ernment. I  had  my  share  of  it ;  for,  as  soon  as  I 
got  back  to  my  seat  in  the  Assembly,  I  was  put  on 
every  committee  for  answering  his  speeches  and 
messages,  and  by  the  committees  always  desired  to 
make  the  drafts.  Our  answers,  as  well  as  his  mes- 
sages, were  often  tart,  and  sometimes  indecently 
abusive  ;  and,  as  he  knew  I  wrote  for  the  Assembly, 
one  might  have  imagined  that,  when  we  met,  we 
could  hardly  avoid  cutting  throats ;  but  he  was  so 
good-natur'd  a  man  that  no  personal  difference  be- 
tween him  and  me  was  occasion'd  by  the  contest, 
and  we  often  din'd  together. 

One  afternoon,  in  the  height  of  this  public  quar- 
rel, we  met  in  the  street.  "  Franklin,"  says  he, 
"you  must  go  home  with  me  and  spend  the  even- 
ing ;  I  am  to  have  some  company  that  you  will 
like ;"  and,  taking  me  by  the  arm,  he  led  me  to  his 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  313 

house.  In  gay  conversation  over  our  wine,  after 
supper,  he  told  us,  jokingly,  that  he  much  admir'd 
the  idea  of  Sancho  Panza,  who,  when  it  was  pro- 
posed to  give  him  a  government,  requested  it  might 
be  a  government  of  blacks,  as  then,  if  he  could  not 
agree  with  his  people,  he  might  sell  them.  One  of 
his  friends,  who  sat  next  to  me,  says,  "Franklin, 
why  do  you  continue  to  side  with  these  damn'd 
Quakers?  Had  not  you  better  sell  them?  The 
proprietor  would  give  you  a  good  price."  "The 
governor,"  says  I,  "  has  not  yet  blacked  them 
enough."  He,  indeed,  had  labored  hard  to  blacken 
the  Assembly  in  all  his  messages,  but  they  wip'd 
off  his  coloring  as  fast  as  he  laid  it  on,  and  plac'd 
it,  in  return,  thick  upon  his  own  face ;  so  that,  find- 
ing he  was  likely  to  be  negrofied  himself,  he,  as 
well  as  Mr.  Hamilton,  grew  tir'd  of  the  contest,  and 
quitted  the  government. 

*  These  public  quarrels  were  all  at  bottom  owing 
to  the  proprietaries,  our  hereditary  governors,  who, 
when  any  expense  was  to  be  incurred  for  the  de- 
fense of  their  province,  with  incredible  meanness 
instructed  their  deputies  to  pass  no  act  for  levying 
the  necessary  taxes,  unless  their  vast  estates  were 
in  the  same  act  expressly  excused ;  and  they  had 
even  taken  bonds  of  these  deputies  to  observe 
such  instructions.  The  Assemblies  for  three  years 
held  out  against  this  injustice,  tho'  constrained  to 


*  My  acts  in  Morris's  time,  military,  etc. — \Marg.  note.] 
27  0 


3 H  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

bend  at  last.  At  length  Captain  Denny,  who  was 
Governor  Morris's  successor,  ventured  to  disobey 
those  instructions :  how  that  was  brought  about  I 
shall  show  hereafter. 

But  I  am  got  forward  too  fast  with  my  story : 
there  are  still  some  transactions  to  be  mention'd  that 
happened  during  the  administration  of  Governor 
Morris. 

War  being  in  a  manner  commenced  with  France, 
the  government  of  Massachusetts  Bay  projected  an 
attack  upon  Crown  Point,  and  sent  Mr.  Quincy  to 
Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Pownall,  afterward  Governor 
Pownall,  to  New  York,  to  solicit  assistance.  As  I 
was  in  the  Assembly,  knew  its  temper,  and  was  Mr. 
Quincy's  countryman,  he  appli'd  to  me  for  my  in- 
fluence and  assistance.  I  dictated  his  address  to 
them,  which  was  well  receiv'd.  They  voted  an  aid 
of  ten  thousand  pounds,  to  be  laid  out  in  provisions. 
But  the  governor  refusing  his  assent  to  their  bill 
(which  included  this  with  other  sums  granted  for 
theiuse  of  the  crown) ,  unless  a  clause  were  inserted 
exempting  the  proprietary  estate  from  bearing  any 
part  of  the  tax  that  would  be  necessary,  the  Assem- 
bly, tho'  very  desirous  of  making  their  grant  to  New 
England  effectual,  were  at  a  loss  how  to  accomplish 
it.  Mr.  Quincy  labored  hard  with  the  governor  to 
obtain  his  assent,  but  he  was  obstinate. 

I  then  suggested  a  method  of  doing  the  business 
without  the  governor,  by  orders  on  the  trustee  of 
the  Loan  Office,  which,  by  law,  the  Assembl)   had 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  315 

the  right  of  drawing.  There  was,  indeed,  little  or 
no  money  at  that  time  in  the  office,  and  therefore  1 
propos'd  that  the  orders  should  be  payable  in  a  year, 
and  to  bear  an  interest  of  five  per  cent.  With  these 
orders  I  suppos'd  the  provisions  might  easily  be 
purchas'd.  The  Assembly,  with  very  little  hesita- 
tion, adopted  the  proposal.  The  orders  were  imme- 
diately printed,  and  I  was  one  of  the  committee 
directed  to  sign  and  dispose  of  them.  The  fund 
for  paying  them  was  the  interest  of  all  the  paper 
currency  then  extant  in  the  province  upon  loan, 
together  with  the  revenue  arising  from  the  excise, 
which  being  known  to  be  more  than  sufficient,  they 
obtain'd  instant  credit,  and  were  not  only  receiv'd 
in  payment  for  the  provisions,  but  many  money'd 
people,  who  had  cash  lying  by  them,  vested  it  in 
those  orders,  which  they  found  advantageous,  as 
they  bore  interest  while  upon  hand,  and  might  on 
any  occasion  be  used  as  money ;  so  that  they  were 
eagerly  all  bought  up,  and  in  a  few  weeks  none  of 
them  were  to  be  seen.  Thus  this  important  affair 
was  by  my  means  compleated.  Mr.  Quincy  re- 
turn'd  thanks  to  the  Assembly  in  a  handsome  memo- 
rial, went  home  highly  pleas'd  with  the  success  of 
his  embassy,  and  ever  after  bore  for  me  the  most 
cordial  and  affectionate  friendship. 

The  British  government,  not  chusing  to  permit 
the  union  of  the  colonies  as  propos'd  at  Albany,  and 
to  trust  that  union  with  their  defense,  lest  they 
should  thereby  grow  too  military,  and  feel  their  own 


316  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

strength,  suspicions  and  jealousies  at  this  time  being 
entertain'd  of  them,  sent  over  General  Braddock 
with  two  regiments  of  regular  English  troops  for 
that  purpose.  He  landed  at  Alexandria,  in  Virginia, 
and  thence  march'd  to  Frederictown,  in  Maryland, 
where  he  halted  for  carriages.  Our  Assembly  ap- 
prehending, from  some  information,  that  he  had  con- 
ceived violent  prejudices  against  them,  as  averse  to 
the  service,  wish'd  me  to  wait  upon  him,  not  as 
from  them,  but  as  postmaster-general,  under  the 
guise  of  proposing  to  settle  with  him  the  mode  of 
conducting  with  most  celerity  and  certainty  the  de- 
spatches between  him  and  the  governors  of  the  sev- 
eral provinces,  with  whom  he  must  necessarily  have 
continual  correspondence,  and  of  which  they  pro- 
pos'd  to  pay  the  expense.  My  son  accompanied 
me  on  this  journey. 

We  found  the  general  at  Frederictown,  waiting 
impatiently  for  the  return  of  those  he  had  sent  thro' 
the  back  parts  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  to  collect 
waggons.  I  stayed  with  him  several  days,  din'd 
with  him  daily,  and  had  full  opportunity  of  remov- 
ing all  his  prejudices,  by  the  information  of  what 
the  Assembly  had  before  his  arrival  actually  done, 
and  were  still  willing  to  do,  to  facilitate  his  opera- 
tions. When  I  was  about  to  depart,  the  returns  of 
waggons  to  be  obtained  were  brought  in,  by  which  it 
appear'd  that  they  amounted  only  to  twenty-five,  and 
not  all  of  those  were  in  serviceable  condition.  The 
gei.  ral  and  all  the  officers  were  surpris'd,  declar'd 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  317 

the  expedition  was  then  at  an  end,  being  impossible  , 
and  exclaim'd  against  the  ministers  for  ignorantly 
landing  them  in  a  country  destitute  of  the  means  of 
conveying  their  stores,  baggage,  etc.,  not  less  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  waggons  being  necessary. 

I  happen'd  to  say  I  thought  it  was  pity  they  had 
not  been  landed  rather  in  Pennsylvania,  as  in  that 
country  almost  every  farmer  had  his  waggon.  The 
general  eagerly  laid  hold  of  my  words,  and  said, 
"Then  you,  sir,  who  are  a  man  of  interest  there, 
can  probably  procure  them  for  us ;  and  I  beg  you 
will  undertake  it."  I  ask'd  what  terms  were  to  be 
offer'd  the  owners  of  the  waggons ;  and  I  was  de- 
sir'd  to  put  on  paper  the  terms  that  appeared  to  me 
necessary.  This  I  did,  and  they  were  agreed  to, 
and  a  commission  and  instructions  accordingly  pre- 
paid immediately.  What  those  terms  were  will 
appear  in  the  advertisement  I  publish'd  as  soon  as 
I  arriv'd  at  Lancaster,  which  being,  from  the  great 
and  sudden  effect  it  produc'd,  a  piece  of  some  curi- 
osity, I  shall  insert  it  at  length,  as  follows : 

'  <  Advertisement. 

"  Lancaster,  April  26,  1755. 
"Whereas,  one  hundred  and  fifty  waggons,  with 
four  horses  to  each  waggon,  and  fifteen  hundred  sad- 
dle or  pack  horses,  are  wanted  for  the  service  of  his 
majesty's  forces  now  about  to  rendezvous  at  Will's 
Creek,  and  his  excellency  General  Braddock  having 
been  pleased  to  empower  me  to  contract  for  the  hire 

27* 


3T8  autobiography  of 

of  the  same,  I  hereby  give  notice  that  I  shall  attend 
for  that  purpose  at  Lancaster  from  this  day  to  next 
Wednesday  evening,  and  at  York  from  next  Thurs- 
day morning  till  Friday  evening,  where  I  shall  be 
ready  to  agree  for  waggons  and  teams,  or  single 
horses,  on  the  following  terms,  viz.  :  i.  That  there 
shall  be  paid  for  each  waggon,  with  four  good  horses 
and  a  driver,  fifteen  shillings  per  diem  ;  and  for  each 
able  horse  with  a  pack-saddle,  or  other  saddle  and 
furniture,  two  shillings  per  diem ;  and  for  each  able 
horse  without  a  saddle,  eighteen  pence  per  diem 
2.  That  the  pay  commence  from  the  time  of  their 
joining  the  forces  at  Will's  Creek,  which  must  be 
on  or  before  the  20th  of  May  ensuing,  and  that  a 
reasonable  allowance  be  paid  over  and  above  for  the 
time  necessary  for  their  travelling  to  Will's  Creek 
and  home  again  after  their  discharge.  3.  Each 
waggon  and  team,  and  every  saddle  or  pack  horse, 
is  to  be  valued  by  indifferent  persons  chosen  be- 
tween me  and  the  owner ;  and  in  case  of  the  loss  of 
any  waggon,  team,  or  other  horse  in  the  service,  the 
price  according  to  such  valuation  is  to  be  allowed 
and  paid.  4.  Seven  days'  pay  is  to  be  advanced 
and  paid  in  hand  by  me  to  the  owner  of  each  waggon 
and  team,  or  horse,  at  the  time  of  contracting,  if 
required,  and  the  remainder  to  be  paid  by  General 
Braddock,  or  by  the  paymaster  of  the  army,  at  the 
time  of  their  discharge,  or  from  time  to  time,  as  it 
shall  be  demanded.  5.  No  drivers  of  waggons,  or 
persons  taking  care  of  the  hired  horses,  are  on  any 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  319 

account  to  be  called  upon  to  do  the  duty  of  soldiers, 
or  be  otherwise  employed  than  in  conducting  or 
taking  care  of  their  carriages  or  horses.  6.  All  oats, 
Indian  corn,  or  other  forage  that  waggons  or  horses 
bring  to  the  camp,  more  than  is  necessary  for  the 
subsistence  of  the  horses,  is  to  be  taken  for  the  use 
of  the  army,  and  a  reasonable  price  paid  for  the 
same. 

"Note. — My  son,  William  Franklin,  is  empow- 
ered to  enter  into  like  contracts  with  any  person  in 
Cumberland  county.  B.  Franklin." 

"  To  the  inhabitants  of  the  Counties  of  Lancaster, 
York,  and  Cumberland, 

"  Friends  and  Countrymen, 

"  Being  occasionally  at  the  camp  at  Frederic  a 
few  days  since,  I  found  the  general  and  officers  ex- 
tremely exasperated  on  account  of  their  not  being 
supplied  with  horses  and  carriages,  which  had  been 
expected  from  this  province,  as  most  able  to  furnish 
them ;  but,  through  the  dissensions  between  our 
governor  and  Assembly,  money  had  not  been  pro- 
vided, nor  any  steps  taken  for  that  purpose. 

"It  was  proposed  to  send  an  armed  force  imme- 
diately into  these  counties,  to  seize  as  many  of  the 
best  carriages  and  horses  as  should  be  wanted,  and 
compel  as  many  persons  into  the  service  as  would 
be  necessary  to  drive  and  take  care  of  them. 

"  I  apprehended  that  the  progress  of  British  sol- 
diers through  these  counties  on  such  an  occasion, 


320  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

especially  considering  the  temper  they  are  in,  and 
their  resentment  against  us,  would  be  attended  with 
many  and  great  inconveniences  to  the  inhabitants, 
and  therefore  more  willingly  took  the  trouble  of 
trying  first  what  might  be  done  by  fair  and  equitable 
means.  The  people  of  these  back  counties  havt 
lately  complained  to  the  Assembly  that  a  sufficient 
cuirency  was  wanting  ;  you  have  an  opportunity  of 
receiving  and  dividing  among  you  a  very  consider- 
able sum ;  for,  if  the  service  of  this  expedition 
should  continue,  as  it  is  more  than  probable  it  will, 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  the  hire  of  these 
waggons  and  horses  will  amount  to  upward  of  thirty 
thousand  pounds,  which  will  be  paid  you  in  silver 
and  gold  of  the  king's  money. 

"The  service  will  be  light  and  easy,  for  the  army 
will  scarce  march  above  twelve  miles  per  day,  and 
the  waggons  and  baggage-horses,  as  they  carry  those 
things  that  are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  welfare 
of  the  army,  must  march  with  the  army,  and  no 
faster ;  and  are,  for  the  army's  sake,  always  placed 
where  they  can  be  most  secure,  whether  in  a  march 
or  in  a  camp. 

"  If  you  are  really,  as  I  believe  you  are,  good 
and  loyal  subjects  to  his  majesty,  you  may  now  do 
a  most  acceptable  service,  and  make  it  easy  to  your- 
selves ;  for  three  or  four  of  such  as  can  not  separ- 
ately spare  from  the  business  of  their  plantations  a 
waggon  and  four  horses  and  a  driver,  may  do  it 
together,  one  furnishing  the  waggon,  another  one  or 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  32 1 

two  horses,  and  another  the  driver,  and  divide  the 
pay  proportionably  between  you ;  but  if  you  do  not 
this  service  to  your  king  and  country  voluntarily, 
when  such  good  pay  and  reasonable  terms  are 
offered  to  you,  your  loyalty  will  be  strongly  sus- 
pected. The  king's  business  must  be  done ;  so 
many  brave  troops,  come  so  far  for  your  defense, 
must  not  stand  idle  through  your  backwardness  to 
do  what  may  be  reasonably  expected  from  you ; 
waggons  and  horses  must  be  had ;  violent  measures 
will  probably  be  used,  and  you  will  be  left  to  seek 
for  a  recompense  where  you  can  find  it,  and  your 
case,  perhaps,  be  little  pitied  or  regarded. 

"  I  have  no  particular  interest  in  this  affair,  as, 
except  the  satisfaction  of  endeavoring  to  do  good,  I 
shall  have  only  my  labor  for  my  pains.  If  this 
method  of  obtaining  the  waggons  and  horses  is  not 
likely  to  succeed,  I  am  obliged  to  send  word  to  the 
general  in  fourteen  days ;  and  I  suppose  Sir  John 
St.  Clair,  the  hussar,  with  a  body  of  soldiers,  will 
immediately  enter  the  province  for  the  purpose, 
which  I  shall  be  sorry  to  hear,  because  I  am  very 
sincerely  and  truly  your  friend  and  well-wisher, 

"B.  Franklin." 

I  received  of  the  general  about  eight  hundred 
pounds,  to  be  disbursed  in  advance-money  to  the 
waggon  owners,  etc.  ;  but  that  sum  being  insuffi- 
cient,  I  advanc'd  upward  of  two  hundred  pounds 

more,  and  in  two  weeks  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 

0* 


322  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

waggons,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  carrying 
horses,  were  on  their  march  for  the  camp.  The 
advertisement  promised  payment  according  to  the 
valuation,  in  case  any  waggon  or  horse  should  be 
lost.  The  owners,  however,  alleging  they  did  not 
know  General  Braddock,  or  what  dependence  might 
be  had  on  his  promise,  insisted  on  my  bond  for  the 
performance,  which  I  accordingly  gave  them. 

While  I  was  at  the  camp,  supping  one  evening 
with  the  officers  of  Colonel  Dunbar's  regiment,  he 
represented  to  me  his  concern  for  the  subalterns, 
who,  he  said,  were  generally  not  in  affluence,  and 
could  ill  afford,  in  this  dear  country,  to  lay  in  the 
stores  that  might  be  necessary  in  so  long  a  march, 
thro*  a  wilderness,  where  nothing  was  to  be  pur- 
chas'd.  I  commiserated  their  case,  and  resolved 
to  endeavor  procuring  them  some  relief.  I  said 
nothing,  however,  to  him  of  my  intention,  but  wrote 
the  next  morning  to  the  committee  of  the  Assembly, 
who  had  the  disposition  of  some  public  money, 
warmly  recommending  the  case  of  these  officers  to 
their  consideration,  and  proposing  that  a  present 
should  be  sent  them  of  necessaries  and  refreshments. 
My  son,  who  had  some  experience  of  a  camp  life, 
and  of  its  wants,  drew  up  a  list  for  me,  which  I 
enclos'd  in  my  letter.  The  committee  approv'd, 
and  used  such  diligence  that,  conducted  by  my 
sen,  the  stores  arrived  at  the  camp  as  soon  as  the 
waggons.  They  consisted  of  twenty  parcels,  each 
containing 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  323 

6  lbs.  loaf  sugar.  1  Gloucester  cheese. 

6  lbs.  good  Muscovado  do.  I  kegg  containing  20  lbs.  good  butter. 

1  lb.  good  green  tea.  2  doz.  old  Madeira  wine. 

1  lb.  good  bohea  do.  2  gallons  Jamaica  spirits. 

6  lbs.  good  ground  coffee.  1  bottle  flour  of  mustard. 

6  lbs.  chocolate.  2  well-cur'd  hams. 

1-2  cwt  best  white  biscuit  1-2  dozen  dry'd  tongues. 

1-2  lb.  pepper.  6  lbs.  rice. 

1  quart  best  white  wine  vinegar.       6  lbs.  raisins. 

These  twenty  parcels,  well  pack'd,  were  placed 
on  as  many  horses,  each  parcel,  with  the  horse, 
being  intended  as  a  present  for  one  officer.  They 
were  very  thankfully  receiv'd,  and  the  kindness  ac- 
knowledge by  letters  to  me  from  the  colonels  of 
both  regiments,  in  the  most  grateful  terms.  The 
general,  too,  was  highly  satisfied  with  my  conduct  in 
procuring  him  the  waggons,  etc.,  and  readily  paid  my 
account  of  disbursements,  thanking  me  repeatedly, 
and  requesting  my  farther  assistance  in  sending 
provisions  after  him.  I  undertook  this  also,  and 
was  busily  employ'd  in  it  till  we  heard  of  his  defeat, 
advancing  for  the  service  of  my  own  money,  upwards 
of  one  thousand  pounds  sterling,  of  which  I  sent 
him  an  account.  It  came  to  his  hands,  luckily  for 
me,  a  few  days  before  the  battle,  and  he  return'd  me 
immediately  an  order  on  the  paymaster  for  the  round 
sum  of  one  thousand  pounds,  leaving  the  remainder 
to  the  next  account.  I  consider  this  payment  as 
good  luck,  having  never  been  able  to  obtain  that 
remainder,  of  which  more  hereafter. 

This  general  was,  I  think,  a  brave  man,  and 
might  probably  have  made  a  figure  as  a  good  officer 


324  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

in  some  European  war.  But  he  had  too  much  self- 
confidence,  too  high  an  opinion  of  the  validity  of 
regular  troops,  and  too  mean  a  one  of  both  Ameri- 
cans and  Indians.  George  Croghan,  our  Indian  in- 
terpreter, join'd  him  on  his  march  with  one  hundred 
of  those  people,  who  might  have  been  of  great  use 
to  his  army  as  guides,  scouts,  etc.,  if  he  had  treated 
them  kindly ;  but  he  slighted  and  neglected  them, 
and  they  gradually  left  him. 

In  conversation  with  him  one  day,  he  was  giving 
me  some  account  of  his  intended  progress.  "  After 
taking  Fort  Duquesne,"  says  he,  "  I  am  to  proceed 
to  Niagara ;  and,  having  taken  that,  to  Frontenac, 
if  the  season  will  allow  time ;  and  I  suppose  it  will, 
for  Duquesne  can  hardly  detain  me  above  three  or 
four  days ;  and  then  I  see  nothing  that  can  obstruct 
my  march  to  Niagara."  Having  before  revolv'd  in 
my  mind  the  long  line  his  army  must  make  in  their 
march  b}'  a  very  narrow  road,  to  be  cut  for  them 
thro'  the  woods  and  bushes,  and  also  what  I  had 
read  of  a  former  defeat  of  fifteen  hundred  French, 
who  invaded  the  Iroquois  country,  I  had  conceiv'd 
some  doubts  and  some  fears  for  the  event  of  the 
campaign.  But  I  ventur'd  only  to  say,  "To  be 
sure,  sir,  if  you  arrive  well  before  Duquesne,  with 
these  fine  troops,  so  well  provided  with  artillery, 
that  place  not  yet  compleatly  fortified,  and  as  we 
hear  with  no  very  strong  garrison,  can  probablv 
make  but  a  short  resistance.  The  only  danger  1 
apprehend  of  obstruction  to  your  march  is  from  am- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  $2$ 

buscades  of  Indians,  who,  by  constant  practice,  are 
dexterous  in  laying  and  executing  them ;  and  the 
slender  line,  near  four  miles  long,  which  your  army 
must  make,  may  expose  it  to  be  attacked  by  surprise 
in  its  flanks,  and  to  be  cut  like  a  thread  into  several 
pieces,  which,  from  their  distance,  can  not  come  up 
in  time  to  support  each  other." 

He  smil'd  at  my  ignorance,  and  reply'd,  "  These 
savages  may,  indeed,  be  a  formidable  enemy  to  your 
raw  American  militia,  but  upon  the  king's  regular 
and  disciplin'd  troops,  sir,  it  is  impossible  they  should 
make  any  impression."  I  was  conscious  of  an  im- 
propriety in  my  disputing  with  a  military  man  in 
matters  of  his  profession,  and  said  no  more.  The 
enemy,  however,  did  not  take  the  advantage  of  his 
army  which  I  apprehended  its  long  line  of  march 
expos'd  it  to,  but  let  it  advance  without  interruption 
till  within  nine  miles  of  the  place;  and  then,  when 
more  in  a  body  (for  it  had  just  passed  a  river,  where 
the  front  had  halted  till  all  were  come  over) ,  and  in 
a  more  open  part  of  the  woods  than  any  it  had  pass'd, 
attack'd  its  advanced  guard  by  a  heavy  fire  from 
behind  trees  and  bushes,  which  was  the  first  intel- 
ligence the  general  had  of  an  enemy's  being  near 
him.  This  guard  being  disordered,  the  general  hur- 
ried the  troops  up  to  their  assistance,  which  was 
done  in  great  confusion,  thro'  waggons,  baggage, 
and  cattle ;  and  presently  the  fire  came  upon  their 
flank  :  the  officers,  being  on  horseback,  were  more 
easily  distinguished,  pick'd  out  as  marks,  and  fell 

28 


326  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

very  fast ;  and  the  soldiers  were  crowded  together 
in  a  huddle,  having  or  hearing  no  orders,  and  stand- 
ing to  be  shot  at  till  two-thirds  of  them  were  killed ; 
and  then,  being  seiz'd  with  a  panick,  the  whole  fled 
with  precipitation. 

The  waggoners  took  each  a  horse  out  of  his  team 
and  scamper'd ;  their  example  was  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  others  ;  so  that  all  the  waggons,  provisions, 
artillery,  and  stores  were  left  to  the  enemy.  The 
general,  being  wounded,  was  brought  off  with  diffi- 
culty ;  his  secretary,  Mr.  Shirley,  was  killed  by  his 
side  ;  and  out  of  eighty-six  officers,  sixty-three  were 
killed  or  wounded,  and  seven  hundred  and  fourteen 
men  killed  out  of  eleven  hundred.  These  eleven 
hundred  had  been  picked  men  from  the  whole  army ; 
the  rest  had  been  left  behind  with  Colonel  Dunbar, 
who  was  to  follow  with  the  heavier  part  of  the 
stores,  provisions,  and  baggage.  The  flyers,  not 
being  pursu'd,  arriv'd  at  Dunbar's  camp,  and  the 
panick  they  brought  with  them  instantly  seiz'd  him 
and  all  his  people ;  and,  tho'  he  had  now  above  one 
thousand  men,  and  the  enemy  who  had  beaten 
Braddock  did  not  at  most  exceed  four  hundred 
Indians  and  French  together,  instead  of  proceeding, 
and  endeavoring  to  recover  some  of  the  lost  honour, 
he  ordered  all  the  stores,  ammunition,  etc.,  to  be 
destroy'd,  that  he  might  have  more  horses  to  assist 
his  flight  towards  the  settlements,  and  less  lumber  to 
remove.  He  was  there  met  with  requests  from  the 
governors  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  32; 

that  he  would  post  his  troops  on  the  frontiers,  so  as 
to  afford  some  protection  to  the  inhabitants ;  but  he 
continu'd  his  hasty  march  thro'  all  the  country,  not 
thinking  himself  safe  till  he  arriv'd  at  Philadelphia, 
where  the  inhabitants  could  protect  him.  This 
whole  transaction  gave  us  Americans  the  first  sus- 
picion that  our  exalted  ideas  of  the  prowess  of 
British  regulars  had  not  been  well  founded. 

In  their  first  march,  too,  from  their  landing  till 
they  got  beyond  the  settlements,  they  had  plundered 
and  stripped  the  inhabitants,  totally  ruining  some 
poor  families,  besides  insulting,  abusing,  and  con- 
fining the  people  if  they  remonstrated.  This  was 
enough  to  put  us  out  of  conceit  of  such  defenders,  if 
we  had  really  wanted  any.  How  different  was  the 
conduct  of  our  French  friends  in  1781,  who,  during 
a  march  thro'  the  most  inhabited  part  of  our  country 
from  Rhode  Island  to  Virginia,  near  seven  hundred 
miles,  occasioned  not  the  smallest  complaint  for  the 
loss  of  a  pig,  a  chicken,  or  even  an  apple. 

Captain  Orme,  who  was  one  of  the  general's 
aids-de-camp,  and,  being  grievously  wounded,  was 
brought  off  with  him,  and  continu'd  with  him  to  his 
death,  which  happen'd  in  a  few  days,  told  me  that 
he  was  totally  silent  all  the  first  day,  and  at  night 
only  said,  "  Who  would  have  thought  it  ?"  That 
he  was  silent  again  the  following  day,  saying  only 
at  last,  "  We  shall  better  know  how  to  deal  with 
them  another  time;"  and  dy'd  in  a  few  minutes 
after. 


328  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

The  secretary's  papers,  with  all  the  general's  or- 
ders, instructions,  and  correspondence,  falling  into 
the  enemy's  hands,  they  selected  and  translated  into 
French  a  number  of  the  articles,  which  they  printed, 
to  prove  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  British  court 
before  the  declaration  of  war.  Among  these  I  saw 
some  letters  of  the  general  to  the  ministry,  speaking 
highly  of  the  great  service  I  had  rendered  the  army, 
and  recommending  me  to  their  notice.  David  Hume, 
too,  who  was  some  years  after  secretary  to  Lord 
Hertford,  when  minister  in  France,  and  afterward 
to  General  Conway,  when  secretary  of  state,  told 
me  he  had  seen  among  the  papers  in  that  office,  let- 
ters from  Braddock  highly  recommending  me.  But, 
the  expedition  having  been  unfortunate,  my  service, 
it  seems,  was  not  thought  of  much  value,  for  those 
recommendations  were  never  of  any  use  to  me. 

As  to  rewards  from  himself,  I  ask'd  only  one, 
which  was,  that  he  would  give  orders  to  his  officers 
not  to  enlist  any  more  of  our  bought  servants,  and 
that  he  would  discharge  such  as  had  been  already 
enlisted.  This  he  readily  granted,  and  several  were 
accordingly  return'd  to  their  masters,  on  my  appli- 
cation. Dunbar,  when  the  command  devolv'd  on 
him,  was  not  so  generous.  He  being  at  Philadel- 
phia, on  his  retreat,  or  rather  flight,  I  apply 'd  to  him 
for  the  discharge  of  the  servants  of  three  poor  farmers 
of  Lancaster  county  that  he  had  enlisted,  reminding 
him  of  the  late  general's  orders  on  that  head.  He 
promised  me  that,  if  the  masters  would  come  to  him 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  329 

at  Trenton,  where  he  should  be  in  a  few  days  on 
his  march  to  New  York,  he  would  there  deliver  their 
men  to  them.  They  accordingly  were  at  the  ex- 
pense and  trouble  of  going  to  Trenton,  and  there  he 
refus'd  to  perform  his  promise,  to  their  great  loss 
and  disappointment. 

As  soon  as  the  loss  of  the  waggons  and  horses  was 
generally  known,  all  the  owners  came  upon  me  for 
the  valuation  which  I  had  given  bond  to  pay.  Their 
demands  gave  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  my  ac- 
quainting them  that  the  money  was  ready  in  the 
paymaster's  hands,  but  that  orders  for  paying  it  must 
first  be  otained  from  General  Shirley,  and  my  assur- 
ing them  that  I  had  apply'd  to  that  general  by  letter  ; 
but,  he  being  at  a  distance,  an  answer  could  not 
soon  be  receiv'd,  and  they  must  have  patience,  all 
this  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy,  and  some  began  to 
sue  me.  General  Shirley  at  length  relieved  me  from 
this  terrible  situation  by  appointing  commissioners 
to  examine  the  claims,  and  ordering  payment.  They 
amounted  to  near  twenty  thousand  pound,  which  to 
pay  would  have  ruined  me. 

Before  we  had  the  news  of  this  defeat,  the  two 
Doctors  Bond  came  to  me  with  a  subscription  paper 
for  raising  money  to  defray  the  expense  of  a  grand 
firework,  which  it  was  intended  to  exhibit  at  a  re- 
joicing on  receipt  of  the  news  of  our  taking  Fort 
Duquesne.  I  looked  grave,  and  said  it  would,  I 
thought,  be  time  enough  to  prepare  for  the  rejoicing 
when  we  knew  we  should  have  occasion  to  rejoice. 

28* 


330  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

They  seem'd  surprised  that  I  did  not  immediately 
comply  with  their  proposal.  "  Why  the  d — 1 !"  says 
one  of  them,  "  you  surely  don't  suppose  that  the  fort 
will  not  be  taken?"  "  I  don't  know  that  it  will  not 
be  taken,  but  I  know  that  the  events  of  war  are  sub- 
ject to  great  uncertainty."  I  gave  them  the  reasons 
of  my  doubting ;  the  subscription  was  dropt,  and  the 
projectors  thereby  missed  the  mortification  they 
would  have  undergone  if  the  firework  had  been  pre- 
pared. Dr.  Bond,  on  some  other  occasion  after- 
ward, said  that  he  did  not  like  Franklin's  fore- 
bodings. 

Governor  Morris,  who  had  continually  worried 
the  Assembly  with  message  after  message  before  the 
defeat  of  Braddock,  to  beat  them  into  the  making 
of  acts  to  raise  money  for  the  defense  of  the  province, 
without  taxing,  among  others,  the  proprietary  es 
tates,  and  had  rejected  all  their  bills  for  not  having 
such  an  exempting  clause,  now  redoubled  his  attacks 
with  more  hope  of  success,  the  danger  and  necessity 
being  greater.  The  Assembly,  however,  continu'd 
firm,  believing  they  had  justice  on  their  side,  and 
that  it  would  be  giving  up  an  essential  right  if  they 
suffered  the  governor  to  amend  their  money-bills. 
In  one  of  the  last,  indeed,  which  was  for  granting 
fifty  thousand  pounds,  his  propos'd  amendment  was 
only  of  a  single  word.  The  bill  express'd  "  that  all 
estates,  real  and  personal,  were  to  be  taxed,  those 
of  the  proprietaries  not  excepted."  His  amendment 
was,  for  not  read  only:  a  small,  but  very  material 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  33 1 

alteration.  However,  when  the  news  of  this  dis- 
aster reached  England,  our  friends  there,  whom  we 
had  taken  care  to  furnish  with  all  the  Assembly's 
answers  to  the  governor's  messages,  rais'd  a  clamor 
against  the  proprietaries  for  their  meanness  and  in- 
justice in  giving  their  governor  such  instructions ; 
some  going  so  far  as  to  say  that,  by  obstructing  the 
defense  of  their  province,  they  forfeited  their  right 
to  it.  They  were  intimidated  by  this,  and  sent 
orders  to  their  receiver-general  to  add  five  thousand 
pounds  of  their  money  to  whatever  sum  might  be 
given  by  the  Assembly  for  such  purpose. 

This,  being  notified  to  the  House,  was  accepted 
in  lieu  of  their  share  of  a  general  tax,  and  a  new 
bill  was  form'd,  with  an  exempting  clause,  which 
passed  accordingly.  By  this  act  I  was  appointed 
one  of  the  commissioners  for  disposing  of  the  money, 
sixty  thousand  pounds.  I  had  been  active  in  mo- 
delling the  bill  and  procuring  its  passage,  and  had, 
at  the  same  time,  drawn  a  bill  for  establishing  and 
disciplining  a  voluntary  militia,  which  I  carried  thro' 
the  House  without  much  difficulty,  as  care  was 
taken  in  it  to  leave  the  Quakers  at  their  liberty.  To 
promote  the  association  necessary  to  form  the  militia, 
I  wrote  a  dialogue,*  stating  and  answering  all  the 
objections  I  could  think  of  to  such  a  militia,  which 
was  printed,  and  had,  as  I  thought,  great  effect. 


*  This  dialogue  and  the  militia  act  are  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine 
tor  February  and  March,  1 756. — \Marg.  note.] 


332  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

While  the  several  companies  in  the  city  and 
country  were  forming,  and  learning  their  exercise, 
the  governor  prevail'd  with  me  to  take  charge  of 
our  North-western  frontier,  which  was  infested  by 
the  enemy,  and  provide  for  the  defense  of  the  in- 
habitants by  raising  troops  and  building  a  line  of 
forts.  I  undertook  this  military  business,  tho'  I 
did  not  conceive  myself  well  qualified  for  it.  He 
gave  me  a  commission  with  full  powers,  and  a  parcel 
of  blank  commissions  for  officers,  to  be  given  to 
whom  I  thought  fit.  I  had  but  little  difficulty  in 
raising  men,  having  soon  five  hundred  and  sixty 
under  my  command.  My  son,  who  had  in  the  pre- 
ceding war  been  an  officer  in  the  army  rais'd  against 
Canada,  was  my  aid-de-camp,  and  of  great  use  to 
me.  The  Indians  had  burned  Gnadenhut,  a  village 
settled  by  the  Moravians,  and  massacred  the  in- 
habitants ;  but  the  place  was  thought  a  good  situation 
for  one  of  the  forts. 

In  order  to  march  thither,  I  assembled  the  com- 
panies at  Bethlehem,  the  chief  establishment  of  those 
people.  I  was  surprised  to  find  it  in  so  good  a  pos- 
ture of  defense ;  the  destruction  of  Gnadenhut  had 
made  them  apprehend  danger.  The  principal  build- 
ings were  defended  by  a  stockade ;  they  had  pur- 
chased a  quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition  from 
New  York,  and  had  even  plac'd  quantities  of  small 
paving  stones  between  the  windows  of  their  high 
stone  houses,  for  their  women  to  throw  down  upon 
the  heads  of  any   Indians  that  should    attempt  to 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  333 

force  into  them.  The  armed  brethren,  too,  kept 
watch,  and  reliev'd  as  methodically  as  in  any  gar- 
rison town.  In  conversation  with  the  bishop,  Span- 
genberg,  I  mention'd  this  my  surprise ;  for,  know- 
ing they  had  obtained  an  act  of  Parliament  exempt- 
ing them  from  military  duties  in  the  colonies,  I  had 
suppos'd  they  were  conscientiously  scrupulous  of 
bearing  arms.  He  answer'd  me  that  it  was  not  one 
of  their  established  principles,  but  that,  at  the  time 
of  their  obtaining  that  act,  it  was  thought  to  be  a 
principle  with  many  of  their  people.  On  this  occa- 
sion, however,  they,  to  their  surprise,  found  it 
adopted  by  but  a  few.  It  seems  they  were  either 
deceiv'd  in  themselves,  or  deceiv'd  the  Parliament; 
but  common  sense,  aided  by  present  danger,  will 
sometimes  be  too  strong  for  whimsical  opinions. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  January  when  we  set  out 
upon  this  business  of  building  forts.  I  sent  one  de- 
tachment toward  the  Minisink,  with  instructions  to 
erect  one  for  the  security  of  that  upper  part  of  the 
country,  and  another  to  the  lower  part,  with  similar 
instructions ;  and  I  concluded  to  go  myself  with  the 
rest  of  my  force  to  Gnadenhut,  where  a  fort  was 
tho't  more  immediately  necessary.  The  Moravians 
procur'd  me  five  waggons  for  our  tools,  stores, 
baggage,  etc. 

just  before  we  left  Bethlehem,  eleven  farmers, 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  plantations  by  the 
Indians,  came  to  me  requesting  a  supply  of  firearms, 
that  they  might  go  back  and  fetch  off  their  cattle. 


334  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  gave  them  each  a  gun  with  suitable  ammunition. 
We  had  not  march'd  many  miles  before  it  began 
to  rain,  and  it  continued  raining  all  day ;  there  were 
no  habitations  on  the  road  to  shelter  us,  till  we  ar- 
riv'd  near  night  at  the  house  of  a  German,  where, 
and  in  his  barn,  we  were  all  huddled  together,  as 
wet  as  water  could  make  us.  It  was  well  we  were 
not  attacked  in  our  march,  for  our  arms  were  of  the 
most  ordinary  sort,  and  our  men  could  not  keep 
their  gun  locks  dry.  The  Indians  are  dextrous 
in  contrivances  for  that  purpose,  which  we  had  not. 
They  met  that  day  the  eleven  poor  farmers  above 
mentioned,  and  killed  ten  of  them.  The  one  who 
escap'd  inform'd  that  his  and  his  companions'  guns 
would  not  go  off,  the  priming  being  wet  with  the 
rain. 

The  next  day  being  fair,  we  continu'd  our  march, 
and  arriv'd  at  the  desolated  Gnadenhut.  There  was 
a  saw-mill  near,  round  which  were  left  several  piles 
of  boards,  with  which  we  soon  hutted  ourselves;  an 
operation  the  more  necessary  at  that  inclement  sea- 
son, as  we  had  no  tents.  Our  first  work  was  to 
bury  more  effectually  the  dead  we  found  there,  who 
had  been  half  interr'd  by  the  country  people. 

The  next  morning  our  fort  was  plann'd  and  mark'd 
out,  the  circumference  measuring  four  hundred  and 
fifty-five  feet,  which  would  require  as  many  palisades 
to  be  made  of  trees,  one  with  another,  of  a  foot 
diameter  each.  Our  axes,  of  which  we  had  seventy,  ,. 
were  immediately  set  to  work  to  cut  down  trees, 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  335 

and,  our  men  being  dextrous  in  the  use  of  them, 
great  despatch  was  made.  Seeing  the  trees  fall  so 
fast,  I  had  the  curiosity  to  look  at  my  watch  when 
two  men  began  to  cut  at  a  pine ;  in  six  minutes  they 
had  it  upon  the  ground,  and  I  found  it  of  fourteen 
inches  diameter.  Each  pine  made  three  palisades 
of  eighteen  feet  long,  pointed  at  one  end.  While 
these  were  preparing,  our  other  men  dug  a  trench 
all  round,  of  three  feet  deep,  in  which  the  palisades 
were  to  be  planted ;  and,  our  waggons,  the  bodys 
being  taken  off,  and  the  fore  and  hind  wheels  sepa- 
rated by  taking  out  the  pin  which  united  the  two 
parts  of  the  perch,  we  had  ten  carriages,  with  two 
horses  each,  to  bring  the  palisades  from  the  woods 
to  the  spot.  When  they  were  set  up,  our  carpen- 
ters built  a  stage  of  boards  all  round  within,  about 
six  feet  high,  for  the  men  to  stand  on  when  to  fire 
thro'  the  loopholes.  We  had  one  swivel  gun,  which 
we  mounted  on  one  of  the  angles,  and  fiVd  it  as  soon 
as  fix'd,  to  let  the  Indians  know,  if  any  were  within 
hearing,  that  we  had  such  pieces  ;  and  thus  our  fort, 
if  such  a  magnificent  name  may  be  given  to  so 
miserable  a  stockade,  was  finish'd  in  a  week,  though 
it  rain'd  so  hard  every  other  day  that  the  men  could 
not  work. 

This  gave  me  occasion  to  observe,  that,  when 
men  are  employ'd,  they  are  best  content'd ;  for  on 
the  days  they  worked  they  were  good-natur'd  and 
cheerful,  and,  with  the  consciousness  of  having  done 
a  good  day's  work,  they  spent  the  evening  jollilv  ; 


336  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

but  on  our  idle  days  they  were  mutinous  and  quar- 
relsome, finding  fault  with  their  pork,  the  bread,  etc., 
and  in  continual  ill-humor,  which  put  me  in  mind 
of  a  sea-captain,  whose  rule  it  was  to  keep  his  men 
constantly  at  work ;  and,  when  his  mate  once  told 
him  that  they  had  done  every  thing,  and  there  was 
nothing  further  to  employ  them  about,  "Oh,"  says 
he,  "  make  them  scour  the  anchor" 

This  kind  of  fort,  however  contemptible,  is  a  suf- 
ficient defense  against  Indians,  who  have  no  cannon. 
Finding  ourselves  now  posted  securely,  and  having 
a  place  to  retreat  to  on  occasion,  we  ventur'd  out  in 
parties  to  scour  the  adjacent  country.  We  met  with 
no  Indians,  but  we  found  the  places  on  the  neigh- 
boring hills  where  they  had  lain  to  watch  our  pro- 
ceedings. There  was  an  art  in  their  contrivance  of 
those  places  that  seems  worth  mention.  It  being 
winter,  a  fire  was  necessary  for  them ;  but  a  com- 
mon fire  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  would  by  its 
light  have  discover'd  their  position  at  a  distance. 
They  had  therefore  dug  holes  in  the  ground  about 
three  feet  diameter,  and  somewhat  deeper ;  we  saw 
where  they  had  with  their  hatchets  cut  off  the  char- 
coal from  the  sides  of  burnt  logs  lying  in  the  woods. 
With  these  coals  they  had  made  small  fires  in  the 
bottom  of  the  holes,  and  we  observ'd  among  the 
weeds  and  grass  the  prints  of  their  bodies,  made  by 
their  laying  all  round,  with  their  legs  hanging  down 
in  the  holes  to  keep  their  feet  warm,  which,  with 
them,  is  an  essential  point.     This  kind  of  fire,  so 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  337 

manag'd,  could  not  discover  them,  either  by  its  light, 
flame,  sparks,  or  even  smoke  :  it  appear'd  that  their 
number  was  not  great,  and  it  seems  they  saw  we 
were  too  many  to  be  attacked  by  them  with  prospect 
of  advantage. 

We  had  for  our  chaplain  a  zealous  Presbyterian 
mi  lister,  Mr.  Beatty,  who  complained  to  me  that 
the  men  did  not  generally  attend  his  prayers  and 
exhortations.  When  they  enlisted,  they  were  prom- 
ised, besides  pay  and  provisions,  a  gill  of  rum  a  day, 
which  was  punctually  serv'd  out  to  them,  half  in 
the  morning,  and  the  other  half  in  the  evening ;  and 
I  observ'd  they  were  as  punctual  in  attending  to  re- 
ceive it;  upon  which  I  said  to  Mr.  Beatty,  "  It  is, 
perhaps,  below  the  dignity  of  your  profession  to  act 
as  steward  of  the  rum,  but  if  you  were  to  deal  it  out 
and  only  just  after  prayers,  you  would  have  them 
all  about  you."  He  liked  the  tho't,  undertook  the 
office,  and,  with  the  help  of  a  few  hands  to  measure 
out  the  liquor,  executed  it  to  satisfaction,  and  never 
were  prayers  more  generally  and  more  punctually 
attended ;  so  that  I  thought  this  method  preferable 
to  the  punishment  inflicted  by  some  military  laws  for 
non-attendance  on  divine  service. 

I  had  hardly  finish'd  this  business,  and  got  my 
fort  well  stor'd  with  provisions,  when  I  receiv'd  a 
letter  from  the  governor,  acquainting  me  that  he  had 
call'd  the  Assembly,  and  wished  my  attendance 
there,  if  the  posture  of  affairs  on  the  frontiers  was 

such  that  my  remaining  there  was  no  longer  neces- 
29  p 


33^  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

sary.  My  friends,  too,  of  the  Assembly,  pressing 
me  b}'  their  letters  to  be,  if  possible,  at  the  meeting, 
and  my  three  intended  forts  being  now  compleated, 
and  the  inhabitants  contented  to  remain  on  their 
farms  under  that  protection,  I  resolved  to  return  ;  the 
more  willingly,  as  a  New  England  officer,  Colonel 
Clapham,  experienced  in  Indian  war,  being  on  a 
visit  to  our  establishment,  consented  to  accept  the 
command.  I  gave  him  a  commission,  and,  parad- 
ing the  garrison,  had  it  read  before  them,  and  intro- 
duc'd  him  to  them  as  an  officer  who,  from  his  skill 
in  military  affairs,  was  much  more  fit  to  command 
them  than  myself;  and,  giving  them  a  little  exhor- 
tation, took  my  leave.  I  was  escorted  as  far  as 
Bethlehem,  where  I  rested  a  few  days  to  recovei 
from  the  fatigue  I  had  undergone.  The  first  night, 
being  in  a  good  bed,  I  could  hardly  sleep,  it  was 
so  different  from  my  hard  lodging  on  the  floor  of 
our  hut  at  Gnaden  wrapt  only  in  a  blanket  or 
two. 

While  at  Bethlehem,  I  inquir'd  a  little  into  the 
practice  of  the  Moravians :  some  of  them  had 
accompanied  me,  and  all  were  very  kind  to  me.  I 
found  they  work'd  for  a  common  stock,  eat  at 
common  tables,  and  slept  in  common  dormitories, 
great  numbers  together.  In  the  dormitories  I  ob- 
served loopholes,  at  certain  distances  all  along  just 
under  the  ceiling,  which  I  thought  judiciously 
placed  for  change  of  air.  I  was  at  their  church, 
*vhere    I    was    entertain'd    with   good    musick,    the 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  339 

organ  being  accompanied  with  violins,  hautboys, 
flutes,  clarinets,  etc.  I  understood  that  their  sermons 
were  not  usually  preached  to  mixed  congregations 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  as  is  our  common 
practice,  but  that  they  assembled  sometimes  the 
married  men,  at  other  times  their  wives,  then  the 
young  men,  the  young  women,  and  the  little  chil- 
dren, each  division  by  itself.  The  sermon  I  heard 
was  to  the  latter,  who  came  in  and  were  plac'd  in 
rows  on  benches ;  the  boys  under  the  conduct  of  a 
young  man,  their  tutor,  and  the  girls  conducted 
by  a  young  woman.  The  discourse  seem'd  well 
adapted  to  their  capacities,  and  was  delivered  in  a 
pleasing,  familiar  manner,  coaxing  them,  as  it  were, 
to  be  good.  They  behav'd  very  orderly,  but  looked 
pale  and  unhealthy,  which  made  me  suspect  they 
were  kept  too  much  within  doors,  or  not  allow'd 
sufficient  exercise. 

I  inquir'd  concerning  the  Moravian  marriages, 
whether  the  report  was  true  that  they  were  by  lot. 
I  was  told  that  lots  were  us'd  only  in  particular 
cases ;  that  generally,  when  a  young  man  found 
himself  dispos'd  to  marry,  he  inform'd  the  elders 
of  his  class,  who  consulted  the  elder  ladies  that 
govern'd  the  young  women.  As  these  elders  of  the 
different  sexes  were  well  acquainted  with  the  tem- 
pers and  dispositions  of  their  respective  pupils,  they 
could  best  judge  what  matches  were  suitable,  and 
their  judgments  were  generally  acquiesc'd  in ;  but 
if,  for  example,  it  should  happen  that  two  or  three 


340  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

young  women  were  found  to  be  equally  proper  for 
the  young  man,  the  lot  was  then  recurred  to.  1 
objected,  if  the  matches  are  not  made  by  the  mutual 
choice  of  the  parties,  some  of  them  may  chance  to 
be  very  unhappy.  "And  so  they  may,"  answer'd 
my  informer,  "if  you  let  the  parties  chuse  for  them- 
selves;"  which,  indeed,  I  could  not  deny. 

Being  returned  to  Philadelphia,  I  found  the  asso- 
ciation went  on  swimmingly,  the  inhabitants  that 
were  not  Quakers  having  pretty  generally  come  into 
it,  formed  themselves  into  companies,  and  chose 
their  captains,  lieutenants,  and  ensigns,  according 
to  the  new  law.  Dr.  B.  visited  me,  and  gave  me 
an  account  of  the  pains  he  had  taken  to  spread  a 
general  good  liking  to  the  law,  and  ascribed  much  to 
those  endeavors.  I  had  had  the  vanity  to  ascribe  all 
to  my  Dialogue;  however,  not  knowing  but  that  he 
might  be  in  the  right,  I  let  him  enjoy  his  opinion, 
which  I  take  to  be  generally  the  best  way  in  such 
cases.  The  officers,  meeting,  chose  me  to  be  colo- 
nel of  the  regiment,  which  I  this  time  accepted.  I 
forget  how  many  companies  we  had,  but  we  paraded 
about  twelve  hundred  well-looking  men,  with  a 
company  of  artillery,  who  had  been  furnished  with 
six  brass  field-pieces,  which  they  had  become  so 
expert  in  the  use  of  as  to  fire  twelve  times  in  a 
minute.  The  first  time  I  reviewed  my  regiment 
they  accompanied  me  to  my  house,  and  would  salute 
me  with  some  rounds  fired  before  my  door,  which 
shook  down  and  broke  several  glasses  of  my  elec- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  34 1 

trical  apparatus.  And  my  new  honour  proved  not 
much  less  brittle  ;  for  all  our  commissions  were  soon 
after  broken  by  a  repeal  of  the  law  in  England. 

During  this  short  time  of  my  colonelship,  being 
about  to  set  out  on  a  journey  to  Virginia,  the  officers 
of  my  regiment  took  it  into  their  heads  that  it  would 
be  proper  for  them  to  escort  me  out  of  town,  as  far 
as  the  Lower  Ferry.  Just  as  I  was  getting  on  horse- 
back they  came  to  my  door,  between  thirty  and 
forty,  mounted,  and  all  in  their  uniforms.  I  had 
not  been  previously  acquainted  with  the  project,  or 
I  should  have  prevented  it,  being  naturally  averse 
to  the  assuming  of  state  on  any  occasion  ;  and  I  was 
a  good  deal  chagrin'd  at  their  appearance,  as  I 
could  not  avoid  their  accompanying  me.  What 
made  it  worse  was,  that,  as  soon  as  we  began  to 
move,  they  drew  their  swords  and  rode  with  them 
naked  all  the  way.  Somebody  wrote  an  account 
of  this  to  the  proprietor,  and  it  gave  him  great 
offense.  No  such  honor  had  been  paid  him  when 
in  the  province,  nor  to  any  of  his  governors ;  and 
he  said  it  was  only  proper  to  princes  of  the  blood 
royal,  which  may  be  true  for  aught  I  know,  who 
was,  and  still  am,  ignorant  of  the  etiquette  in  such 
cases. 

.  This  silly  affair,  however,  greatly  increased  his 
rancour  against  me,  which  was  before  not  a  little, 
on  account  of  my  conduct  in  the  Assembly  respect- 
ing  the  exemption  of  his  estate  from  taxation,  which 
I   had  always  oppos'd  very  warmly,  and  not  with- 

29* 


34^  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

out  severe  reflections  on  his  meanness  and  injustice 
of  contending  for  it.  He  accused  me  to  the  minis- 
try as  being  the  great  obstacle  to  the  king's  service, 
preventing,  by  my  influence  in  the  House,  the  proper 
form  of  the  bills  for  raising  money,  and  he  instanced 
this  parade  with  my  officers  as  a  proof  of  my  having 
an  intention  to  take  the  government  of  the  province 
out  of  his  hands  by  force.  He  also  applied  to  Sir 
Everard  Fawkener,  the  postmaster-general,  to  de- 
prive me  of  my  office ;  but  it  had  no  other  effect 
than  to  procure  from  Sir  Everard  a  gentle  ad- 
monition. 

Notwithstanding  the  continual  wrangle  between 
the  governor  and  the  House,  in  which  I,  as  a  mem- 
ber, had  so  large  a  share,  there  still  subsisted  a  civil 
intercourse  between  that  gentleman  and  myself,  and 
we  never  had  any  personal  difference.  I  have  some- 
times since  thought  that  his  little  or  no  resentment 
against  me,  for  the  answers  it  was  known  I  drew  up 
to  his  messages,  might  be  the  effect  of  professional 
habit,  and  that,  being  bred  a  lawyer,  he  might  con- 
sider us  both  as  merely  advocates  for  contending 
clients  in  a  suit,  he  for  the  proprietaries  and  I  for 
the  Assembly.  He  would,  therefore,  sometimes  call 
in  a  friendly  way  to  advise  with  me  on  difficult 
points,  and  sometimes,  tho'  not  often,  take  my 
advice. 

We  acted  in  concert  to  supply  Braddock's  army 
with  provisions ;  and,  when  the  shocking  news  ar- 
rived of  his  defeat,  the  governor  sent  in  haste  for 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  343 

me,  to  consult  with  him  on  measures  for  preventing 
the  desertion  of  the  back  counties.  I  forget  now 
the  advice  I  gave ;  but  I  think  it  was,  that  Dunbar 
should  be  written  to,  and  prevail'd  with,  if  possible, 
to  post  his  troops  on  the  frontiers  for  their  protec- 
tion, till,  by  re-enforcements  from  the  colonies,  he 
might  be  able  to  proceed  on  the  expedition.  And, 
after  my  return  from  the  frontier,  he  would  have  had 
me  undertake  the  conduct  of  such  an  expedition 
with  provincial  troops,  for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Du- 
quesne,  Dunbar  and  his  men  being  otherwise  em- 
ployed ;  and  he  proposed  to  commission  me  as 
general.  I  had  not  so  good  an  opinion  of  my  mili- 
tary abilities  as  he  profess'd  to  have,  and  I  believe 
his  professions  must  have  exceeded  his  real  senti- 
ments ;  but  probably  he  might  think  that  my  popu- 
larity would  facilitate  the  raising  of  the  men,  and 
my  influence  in  Assembly,  the  grant  of  money  to 
pay  them,  and  that,  perhaps,  without  taxing  the 
proprietary  estate.  Finding  me  not  so  forward  to 
engage  as  he  expected,  the  project  was  dropt, 
and  he  soon  after  left  the  government,  being  super- 
seded by  Captain  Denny. 

Before  I  proceed  in  relating  the  part  I  had  in 
public  affairs  under  this  new  governor's  administra- 
tion, it  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  give  some  account 
of  the  rise  and  progress  of  my  philosophical  repu- 
tation. 

In  1746,  being  at  Boston,  I  met  there  with  a  Dr. 
Spence,  who  was  lately  arrived  from  Scotland,  and 


344  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

show'd  me  some  electric  experiments.  They  were 
imperfectly  perform'd,  as  he  was  not  very  expert; 
but,  being  on  a  subject  quite  new  to  me,  they 
equally  surprised  and  pleased  me.  Soon  after  my 
return  to  Philadelphia,  our  library  company  receiv'd 
from  Mr.  P.  Collinson,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society 
of  London,  a  present  of  a  glass  tube,  with  some  ac- 
count of  the  use  of  it  in  making  such  experiments. 
I  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  of  repeating  what 
I  had  seen  at  Boston;  and,  by  much  practice,  ac- 
quir'd  great  readiness  in  performing  those,  also, 
which  we  had  an  account  of  from  England,  adding 
a  number  of  new  ones.  I  say  much  practice,  for 
my  house  was  continually  full,  for  some  time,  with 
people  who  came  to  see  these  new  wonders. 

To  divide  a  little  this  incumbrance  among  my 
friends,  I  caused  a  number  of  similar  tubes  to  be 
blown  at  our  glass-house,  with  which  they  furnish'd 
themselves,  so  that  we  had  at  length  several  per- 
formers. Among  these,  the  principal  was  Mr. 
Kinnersley,  an  ingenious  neighbor,  who,  being  out 
of  business,  I  encouraged  to  undertake  showing 
the  experiments  for  money,  and  drew  up  for  him 
two  lectures,  in  which  the  experiments  were  rang'd 
in  such  order,  and  accompanied  with  such  explana- 
tions in  such  method,  as  that  the  foregoirg  should  as- 
sist in  comprehending  the  following.  He  procur'd 
an  elegant  apparatus  for  the  purpose,  in  which  all  the 
little  machines  that  I  had  roughly  made  for  myself 
were    nicely   form'd    by    instrument-makers.       His 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  345 

lectures  were  well  attended,  and  gave  great  satis- 
faction ;  and  after  some  time  he  went  thro'  the 
colonies,  exhibiting  them  in  every  capital  town,  and 
pick'd  up  some  money.  In  the  West  India  islands, 
indeed,  it  was  with  difficulty  the  experiments  could 
be  made,  from  the  general  moisture  of  the  air. 

Oblig'd  as  we  were  to  Mr.  Collinson  for  his  pre- 
sent of  the  tube,  etc.,  I  thought  it  right  he  should  be 
inform'd  of  our  success  in  using  it,  and  wrote  him 
several  letters  containing  accounts  of  our  experi- 
ments. He  got  them  read  in  the  Royal  Society, 
where  they  were  not  at  first  thought  worth  so  much 
notice  as  to  be  printed  in  their  Transactions.  One 
paper,  which  I  wrote  for  Mr.  Kinnersley,  on  the 
sameness  of  lightning  with  electricity,  I  sent  to  Dr. 
Mitchel,  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  and  one  of  the 
members  also  of  that  society,  who  wrote  me  word 
that  it  had  been  read,  but  was  laughed  at  by  the 
connoisseurs.  The  papers,  however,  being  shown 
to  Dr.  Fothergill,  he  thought  them  of  too  much 
value  to  be  stifled,  and  advis'd  the  printing  of  them. 
Mr.  Collinson  then  gave  them  to  Cave  for  publica- 
tion in  his  Gentleman's  Magazine ;  but  he  chose  to 
print  them  separately  in  a  pamphlet,  and  Dr.  Foth- 
ergill wrote  the  preface.  Cave,  it  seems,  judged 
rightly  for  his  profit,  for  by  the  additions  that  arrived 
afterward,  they  swell'd  to  a  quarto  volume,  which 
has  had  five  editions,  and  cost  him  nothing  for 
copy-money. 

It  was,  however,  some  time  before  those  paper* 


346  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

were  much  taken  notice  of  in  England.  A  copy  of 
them  happening  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Count 
de  BufTon,  a  philosopher  deservedly  of  great  reputa- 
tion in  France,  and,  indeed,  all  over  Europe,  he 
prevailed  with  M.  Dalibard  to  translate  them  into 
French,  and  they  were  printed  at  Paris.  The  pub- 
lication offended  the  Abbe  Nollet,  preceptor  in 
Natural  Philosophy  to  the  royal  family,  and  an  able 
experimenter,  who  had  form'd  and  publish'd  a 
theory  of  electricity,  which  then  had  the  general 
vogue.  He  could  not  at  first  believe  that  such  a 
work  came  from  America,  and  said  it  must  have 
been  fabricated  by  his  enemies  at  Paris,  to  decry 
his  system.  Afterwards,  having  been  assur'd  that 
there  really  existed  such  a  person  as  Franklin  at 
Philadelphia,  which  he  had  doubted,  he  wrote  and 
published  a  volume  of  Letters,  chiefly  address'd  to 
me,  defending  his  theory,  and  denying  the  verity 
of  my  experiments,  and  of  the  positions  deduc'd 
from  them. 

I  once  purpos'd  answering  the  abbe,  and  actually 
began  the  answer ;  but,  on  consideration  that  my 
writings  contain'd  a  description  of  experiments 
which  any  one  might  repeat  and  verify,  and  if  not 
to  be  verifi'd,  could  not  be  defended  ;  or  of  observa- 
tions ofFer'd  as  conjectures,  and  not  delivered  dog- 
matically, therefore  not  laying  me  under  any  obliga- 
tion to  defend  them ;  and  reflecting  that  a  dispute 
between  two  persons,  writing  in  different  languages, 
might  be  lengthened  greatly  by  mistranslations,  and 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  347 

thence  misconceptions  of  one  another's  meaning, 
much  of  one  of  the  abbe's  letters  being  founded  on 
an  error  in  the  translation,  I  concluded  to  let  my 
papers  shift  for  themselves,  believing  it  was  better 
to  spend  what  time  I  could  spare  from  public  busi- 
ness in  making  new  experiments,  than  in  disputing 
about  those  already  made.  I  therefore  never  an- 
swered M.  Nollet,  and  the  event  gave  me  no  cause 
to  repent  my  silence ;  for  my  friend  M.  le  Roy,  of 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  took  up  my  cause 
and  refuted  him ;  my  book  was  translated  into  the 
Italian,  German,  and  Latin  languages ;  and  the  doc- 
trine it  contain'd  was  by  degrees  universally  adopted 
by  the  philosophers  of  Europe,  in  preference  to  that 
of  the  abbe  ;  so  that  he  lived  to  see  himself  the  last 

of  his  sect,  except  Monsieur  B ,  of  Paris,  his 

eleve  and  immediate  disciple. 

What  gave  my  book  the  more  sudden  and  gen- 
eral celebrity,  was  the  success  of  one  of  its  proposed 
experiments,  made  by  Messrs.  Dalibard  and  De  Lor 
at  Marly,  for  drawing  lightning  from  the  clouds. 
This  engag'd  the  public  attention  every  where.  M. 
de  Lor,  who  had  an  apparatus  for  experimental 
philosophy,  and  lectur'd  in  that  branch  of  science, 
undertook  to  repeat  what  he  called  the  Philadelphia 
Experiments ;  and,  after  they  were  performed  be 
fore  the  king  and  court,  all  the  curious  of  Paris 
flocked  to  see  them.  I  will  not  swell  this  narrative 
with  an  account  of  that  capital  experiment,  nor  of 
the  infinite  pleasure  I   receiv'd  in  the  success  of  a 


348  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

similar  one  I  made  soon  after  with  a  kite  at  Phila- 
delphia, as  both  are  to  be  found  in  the  histories  oi 
electricity. 

Dr.  Wright,  an  English  physician,  when  at  Paris, 
wrote  to  a  friend,  who  was  of  the  Royal  Society,  an 
account  of  the  high  esteem  my  experiments  were  in 
among  the  learned  abroad,  and  of  their  wonder  that 
my  writings  had  been  so  little  noticed  in  England. 
The  society ,  on  this,  resum'd  the  consideration  of 
the  letters  that  had  been  read  to  them  ;  and  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Watson  drew  up  a  summary  account  of 
them,  and  of  all  I  had  afterwards  sent  to  England  on 
the  subject,  which  he  accompanied  with  some  praise 
of  the  writer.  This  summary  was  then  printed  in 
their  Transactions  ;  and  some  members  of  the  society 
in  London,  particularly  the  very  ingenious  Mr.  Can- 
ton, having  verified  the  experiment  of  procuring 
lightning  from  the  clouds  by  a  pointed  rod,  and  ac- 
quainting them  with  the  success,  they  soon  made  me 
more  than  amends  for  the  slight  with  which  they 
had  before  treated  me.  Without  my  having  made 
any  application  for  that  honor,  they  chose  me  a 
member,  and  voted  that  I  should  be  excus'd  the 
customary  payments,  which  would  have  amounted 
to  twenty-five  guineas ;  and  ever  since  have  given 
me   their   Transactions    gratis.*      They    also   pic- 


*  Dr.  Franklin  gives  a  further  account  of  his  election  in  a  letter  to  his 
son,  Governor  Franklin,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  London,  19  December,  ^(>y. 
'' We  have   had  an  ugly  affair  at  the    Royal    Society  lately.      One 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  349 

sented  me  with  the  gold  medal  of  Sir  Godfrey  Cop- 
ley for  the  year  1753,  the  delivery  of  which  was 
accompanied  by  a  very  handsome  speech*  of  the 
president,  Lord  Macclesfield,  wherein  I  was  highly 
honoured. 

Our  new  governor,  Captain  Denny,  brought  over 


Dacosta,  a  Jew,  who,  as  our  clerk,  was  intrusted  with  collecting  our 
moneys,  has  been  so  unfaithful  as  to  embezzle  near  thirteen  hundred 
pounds  in  four  years.  Being  one  of  the  Council  this  year,  as  well  as 
the  last,  I  have  been  employed  all  the  last  week  in  attending  the  inquiry 
into,  and  unravelling,  his  accounts,  in  order  to  come  at  a  full  knowledge 
of  his  frauds.  His  securities  are  bound  in  one  thousand  pounds  to  the 
Society,  which  they  will  pay,  but  we  shall  probably  lose  the  rest.  He 
had  this  year  received  twenty-six  admission  payments  of  twenty-five 
guineas  each,  which  he  did  not  bring  to  account 

"  While  attending  to  this  affair,  I  liad  an  opportunity  of  looking  over 
the  old  Council  books  and  journals  of  the  Society,  and,  having  a 
curiosity  to  see  how  I  came  in,  of  which  1  had  never  been  informed,  I 
looked  back  for  the  minutes  relating  to  it.  You  must  know,  it  is  not 
usual  to  admit  persons  that  have  not  requested  to  be  admitted  ;  and  a 
recommendatory  certificate  in  favor  of  the  candidate,  signed  by  at  least 
three  of  the  members,  is  by  our  rule  to  be  presented  to  the  Society, 
expressing  that  he  is  desirous  of  that  honor,  and  is  so  and  so  qualified. 
As  I  never  had  asked  or  expected  the  honor,  I  was,  as  I  said  before, 
curious  to  see  how  the  business  was  managed.  I  found  that  the  certifi- 
cate, worded  very  advantageously  for  me,  was  signed  by  Lord  Maccles- 
field, then  president,  Lord  Parker,  and  Lord  Willoughby;  that  the 
election  was  by  a  unanimous  vote ;  and,  the  honor  being  voluntarily 
conferred  by  the  Society,  unsolicited  by  me,  it  was  thought  wrong  to 
demand  or  receive  the  usual  fees  or  composition  ;  so  that  my  name  was 
entered  on  the  list,  with  a  vote  of  Council  that  I  was  not  to  pay  any 
thing,  and  accordingly  nothing  has  ever  been  demanded  of  me.  Those 
who  are  admitted  in  the  common  way,  pay  five  guineas  admission  fees, 
and  two  guineas  and  a  half  yearly  contribution,  or  twenty-five  guineas 
clown  in  lieu  of  it.  In  my  case  a  substantial  favor  accompanied  the 
honor."— W.  T.  F. 

*  See  this  speech  in  vol.  v.  p.  499,  Sparks'  Works  of  Franklin. — Ed. 
30 


350  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

for  me  the  before-mentioned  medal  from  the  Royal 
Society,  which  he  presented  to  me  at  an  entertain- 
ment given  him  by  the  city.  He  accompanied  it 
with  very  polite  expressions  of  his  esteem  for  me, 
having,  as  he  said,  been  long  acquainted  with  my 
character.  After  dinner,  when  the  company,  as 
was  customary  at  that  time,  were  engag'd  in  drink- 
ing, he  took  me  aside  into  another  room,  and  ac- 
quainted me  that  he  had  been  advis'd  by  his  friends 
in  England  to  cultivate  a  friendship  with  me,  as  one 
who  was  capable  of  giving  him  the  best  advice,  and 
of  contributing  most  effectually  to  the  making  his 
administration  easy  ;  that  he  therefore  desired  of  all 
things  to  have  a  good  understanding  with  me,  and 
he  begg'd  me  to  be  assur'd  of  his  readiness  on  all 
occasions  to  render  me  every  service  that  might  be 
in  his  power.  He  said  much  to  me,  also,  of  the 
proprietor's  good  disposition  towards  the  province, 
and  of  the  advantage  it  might  be  to  us  all,  and  to 
me  in  particular,  if  the  opposition  that  had  been 
so  long  continu'd  to  his  measures  was  dropt,  and 
harmony  restor'd  between  him  and  the  people ;  in 
effecting  which,  it  was  thought  no  one  could  be 
more  serviceable  than  myself;  and  I  might  depend 
on  adequate  acknowledgments  and  recompenses, 
etc.,  etc.  The  drinkers,  finding  we  did  not  return 
immediately  to  the  table,  sent  us  a  decanter  of  Ma- 
deira, which  the  governor  made  liberal  use  of, 
and  in  proportion  became  more  profuse  of  his  solici- 
tations and  promises. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  35  1 

My  answers  were  to  this  purpose :  that  my  cir- 
cumstances, thanks  to  God,  were  such  as  to  make 
proprietary  favours  unnecessary  to  me ;  and  that, 
being  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  I  could  not  possi- 
bly accept  of  any ;  that,  however,  I  had  no  personal 
enmity  to  the  proprietary,  and  that,  whenever  the 
public  measures  he  propos'd  should  appear  to  be 
for  the  good  of  the  people,  no  one  should  espouse 
and  forward  them  more  zealously  than  myself;  my 
past  opposition  having  been  founded  on  this,  that 
the  measures  which  had  been  urged  were  evidently 
intended  to  serve  the  proprietary  interest,  with  great 
prejudice  to  that  of  the  people ;  that  I  was  much 
obliged  to  him  (the  governor)  for  his  professions  of 
regard  to  me,  and  that  he  might  rely  on  every  thing 
in  my  power  to  make  his  administration  as  easy  as 
possible,  hoping  at  the  same  time  that  he  had  not 
brought  with  him  the  same  unfortunate  instruction 
his  predecessor  had  been  hamper'd  with. 

On  this  he  did  not  then  explain  himself;  but 
when  he  afterwards  came  to  do  business  with  the 
Assembly,  they  appear'd  again,  the  disputes  were 
renewed,  and  I  was  as  active  as  ever  in  the  opposi- 
tion, being  the  penman,  first,  of  the  request  to  have 
a  communication  of  the  instructions,  and  then  of 
the  remarks  upon  them,  which  may  be  found  in  the 
votes  of  the  time,  and  in  the  Historical  Review  I 
afterward  publish'd.  But  between  us  personally 
no  enmity  arose ;  we  were  often  together ;  he  was  a 
man  of  letters,  had  seen  much  of  the  world,  and 


352  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

was  very  entertaining  and  pleasing  in  conversation. 
He  gave  me  the  first  information  that  my  old  friend 
Jas.  Ralph  was  still  alive ;  that  he  was  esteem'd  one 
of  the  best  political  writers  in  England  ;  had  been  em- 
ploy'd  in  the  dispute  between  Prince  Frederic  and  the 
king,  and  had  obtain'd  a  pension  of  three  hundred  a 
ye  ar  ;  that  his  reputation  was  indeed  small  as  a  poet, 
Pope  having  damned  his  poetry  in  the  Dunciad ;  but 
his  prose  was  thought  as  good  as  any  man's. 

*  The  Assembly  finally  finding  the  proprietary 
obstinately  persisted  in  manacling  their  deputies  with 
instructions  inconsistent  not  only  with  the  privileges 
of  the  people,  but  with  the  service  of  the  crown, 
resolv'd  to  petition  the  king  against  them,  and 
appointed  me  their  agent  to  go  over  to  England,  to 
present  and  support  the  petition.  The  House  had 
sent  up  a  bill  to  the  governor,  granting  a  sum  of 
sixty  thousand  pounds  for  the  king's  use  (ten  thou- 
sand pounds  of  which  was  subjected  to  the  orders 
of  the  then  general,  Lord  Loudoun),  which  the 
governor  absolutely  refus'd  to  pass,  in  compliance 
with  his  instructions. 

I  had  agreed  with  Captain  Morris,  of  the  paquet 
at  New  York,  for  my  passage,  and  my  stores  were 
put  on  board,  when  Lord  Loudoun  arriv'd  at  Phila- 
delphia, expressly,  as  he  told  me,  to  endeavor  an 
accommodation  between  the  governor  and  Assem- 


*  The  many  unanimous  resolves  of  the  Assembly — what  date  ?— 
\Marg.  note.] 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  353 

bly,  that  his  majesty's  service  might  not  be  ob- 
structed by  their  dissensions.  Accordingly,  he 
desir'd  the  governor  and  myself  to  meet  him,  that 
he  might  hear  what  was  to  be  said  on  both  sides. 
We  met  and  discuss'd  the  business.  In  behalf  of 
the  Assembly,  I  urg'd  all  the  various  arguments  that 
may  be  found  in  the  public  papers  of  that  time, 
which  were  of  my  writing,  and  are  printed  with  the 
minutes  of  the  Assembly  ;  and  the  governor  pleaded 
his  instructions ;  the  bond  he  had  given  to  observe 
them,  and  his  ruin  if  he  disobey'd,  yet  seemed  not 
unwilling  to  hazard  himself  if  Lord  Loudoun  would 
advise  it.  This  his  lordship  did  not  chuse  to  do, 
though  I  once  thought  I  had  nearly  prevail'd  with 
him  to  do  it ;  but  finally  he  rather  chose  to  urge  the 
compliance  of  the  Assembly ;  and  he  entreated  me 
to  use  my  endeavours  with  them  for  that  purpore, 
declaring  that  he  would  spare  none  of  the  king's 
troops  for  the  defense  of  our  frontiers,  and  that,  if 
we  did  not  continue  to  provide  for  that  defense  our- 
selves, they  must  remain  expos'd  to  the  enemy. 

I  acquainted  the  House  with  what  had  pass'd, 
and,  presenting  them  with  a  set  of  resolutions  I  had 
drawn  up,  declaring  our  rights,  and  that  we  did 
not  relinquish  our  claim  to  those  rights,  but  only 
suspended  the  exercise  of  them  on  this  occasion 
thro'  force,  against  which  we  protested,  they  at 
length  agreed  to  drop  that  bill,  and  frame  another 
conformable  to  the  proprietary  instructions.  This 
of  course  the  governor  pass'd,  and  I  was  then  at 

30* 


354  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

liberty  to  proceed  on  rrvy  voyage.  But,  in  the  mean 
time,  the  paquet  had  sailed  with  my  sea- stores, 
which  was  some  loss  to  me,  and  my  only  recom- 
pense was  his  lordship's  thanks  for  my  service,  all 
the  credit  of  obtaining  the  accommodation  falling  to 
his  share. 

He  set  out  for  New  York  before  me  ;  and,  as  the 
time  for  dispatching  the  paquet-boats  was  at  his  dis- 
position, and  there  were  two  then  remaining  there, 
one  of  which,  he  said,  was  to  sail  very  soon,  I  re- 
quested to  know  the  precise  time,  that  I  might  not 
miss  her  by  any  delay  of  mine.  His  answer  was, 
"  I  have  given  out  that  she  is  to  sail  on  Saturday 
next ;  but  I  may  let  you  know,  entre  nous,  that  if 
you  are  there  by  Monday  morning,  you  will  be  in 
time,  but  do  not  delay  longer."  By  some  accidental 
hinderance  at  a  ferry,  it  was  Monday  noon  before  I 
arrived,  and  I  was  much  afraid  she  might  have 
sailed,  as  the  wind  was  fair ;  but  I  was  soon  made 
easy  by  the  information  that  she  was  still  in  the 
harbor,  and  would  not  move  till  the  next  day.  One 
would  imagine  that  I  was  now  on  the  very  point  of 
departing  for  Europe.  I  thought  so  ;  but  I  was  not 
then  so  well  acquainted  with  his  lordship's  character, 
of  which  indecision  was  one  of  the  strongest  fea- 
tures. I  shall  give  some  instances.  It  was  about 
the  beginning  of  April  that  I  came  to  New  York, 
and  I  think  it  was  near  the  end  of  June  before  we 
sail'd.  There  were  tLen  two  of  the  paquet-boats, 
which  had  been  long  in  port,  but  were  detained  for 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  355 

the  general's  letters,  which  were  always  to  be  ready 
to-morrow.  Another  paquet  arriv'd ;  she  too  was 
detain'd ;  and,  before  we  saiPd,  a  fourth  was  ex- 
pected. Ours  was  the  first  to  be  dispatch'd,  as 
having  been  there  longest.  Passengers  were  en- 
gag'd  in  all,  and  some  extremely  impatient  to  be 
gone,  and  the  merchants  uneasy  about  their  letters, 
and  the  orders  they  had  given  for  insurance  (it  being 
war  time)  for  fall  goods ;  but  their  anxiety  avaiPd 
nothing ;  his  lordship's  letters  were  not  ready  ;  and 
yet  whoever  waited  on  him  found  him  always  at  his 
desk,  pen  in  hand,  and  concluded  he  must  needs 
write  abundantly. 

Going  myself  one  morning  to  pay  my  respects,  I 
found  in  his  antechamber  one  Innis,  a  messenger  of 
Philadelphia,  who  had  come  from  thence  express  with 
a  paquet  from  Governor  Denny  for  the  General.  He 
delivered  to  me  some  letters  from  my  friends  there, 
which  occasion'd  my  inquiring  when  he  was  to  re- 
turn, and  where  he  lodg'd,  that  I  might  send  some 
letters  by  him.  He  told  me  he  was  order'd  to  call 
to-morrow  at  nine  for  the  general's  answer  to  the 
governor,  and  should  set  off  immediately.  I  put  my 
letters  into  his  hands  the  same  day.  A  fortnight 
after  I  met  him  again  in  the  same  place.  "  So,  you 
are  soon  return'd,  Innis  ?"  "  Return ydl  no,  I  am 
not  gone  yet."  "  How  so?"  "  I  have  called  here 
by  order  every  morning  these  two  weeks  past  for  his 
lordship's  letter,  and  it  is  not  yet  ready."  "Is  it 
possible,  when  he  is  so  great  a  writer?  for  I  see  him 


356  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

constantly  at  his  escritoire."  "Yes,"  says  Innis, 
"  but  he  is  like  St.  George  on  the  signs,  always  on 
horseback,  and  never  rides  on"  This  observation 
of  the  messenger  was,  it  seems,  well  founded ;  for, 
when  in  England,  I  understood  that  Mr.  Pitt  gave 
it  as  one  reason  for  removing  this  general,  and  send- 
ing Generals  Amherst  and  Wolfe,  that  the  minister 
never  heard  from  him,  and  could  not  know  what  he 
was  doing. 

This  daily  expectation  of  sailing,  and  all  the  three 
paquets  going  down  to  Sandy  Hook,  to  join  the 
fleet  there,  the  passengers  thought  it  best  to  be  on 
board,  lest  by  a  sudden  order  the  ships  should  sail, 
and  they  be  left  behind.  There,  if  I  remember  right, 
we  were  about  six  weeks,  consuming  our  sea-stores, 
and  oblig'd  to  procure  more.  At  length  the  fleet 
sail'd,  the  General  and  all  his  army  on  board,  bound 
to  Louisburg,  with  intent  to  besiege  and  take  that 
fortress  ;  all  the  paquet-boats  in  company  ordered  to 
attend  the  General's  ship,  ready  to  receive  his  dis- 
patches when  they  should  be  ready.  We  were  out 
five  days  before  we  got  a  letter  with  leave  to  part, 
and  then  our  ship  quitted  the  fleet  and  steered  for 
England.  The  other  two  paquets  he  still  detained, 
carried  them  with  him  to  Halifax,  where  he  stayed 
some  time  to  exercise  the  men  in  sham  attacks  upon 
sham  forts,  then  alter'd  his  mind  as  to  besieging  Lou 
isburg,  and  return'd  to  New  York,  with  all  his  troops, 
together  with  the  two  paquets  above  mentioned,  and 
all  their  passengers  !   During  his  absence  the  French 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  357 

and  savages  had  taken  Fort  George,  on  the  frontier 
of  that  province,  and  the  savages  had  massacred 
many  of  the  garrison  after  capitulation. 

I  saw  afterwards  in  London  Captain  Bonnell,  who 
commanded  one  of  those  paquets.  He  told  me  that, 
when  he  had  been  detain'd  a  month,  he  acquainted 
his  lordship  that  his  ship  was  grown  foul,  to  a  de- 
gree that  must  necessarily  hinder  her  fast  sailing,  a 
point  of  consequence  for  a  paquet-boat,  and  re- 
quested an  allowance  of  time  to  heave  her  down  and 
clean  her  bottom.  He  was  asked  how  long  time 
that  would  require.  He  answer'd,  three  days. 
The  general  replied,  "  If  you  can  do  it  in  one  day, 
I  give  leave ;  otherwise  not ;  for  you  must  certainly 
sail  the  day  after  to-morrow."  So  he  never  obtain'd 
leave,  though  detained  afterwards  from  day  to  day 
during  full  three  months. 

1  saw  also  in  London  one  of  Bonnell's  passengers, 
who  was  so  enrag'd  against  his  lordship  for  deceiv- 
ing and  detaining  him  so  long  at  New  York,  and 
then  carrying  him  to  Halifax  and  back  again,  that 
he  swore  he  would  sue  him  for  damages.  Whether 
he  did  or  not,  I  never  heard ;  but,  as  he  represented 
the  injury  to  his  affairs,  it  was  very  considerable. 

On  the  whole,  I  wonder'd  much  how  such  a 
man  came  to  be  intrusted  with  so  important  a 
business  as  the  conduct  of  a  great  army ;  but, 
having  since  seen  more  of  the  great  world,  and 
the  means  of  obtaining,  and  motives  for  giving 
places,  my  wonder  is  diminished.    General  Shirley, 


358  AUTOBIOGRAPHT  OF 

on  whom  the  command  of  the  army  devolved  upon 
the  death  of  Braddock,  would,  in  my  opinion,  if 
continued  in  place,  have  made  a  much  better  cam- 
paign than  that  of  Loudoun  in  1757,  which  was 
frivolous,  expensive,  and  disgraceful  to  our  nation 
beyond  conception ;  for,  tho'  Shirley  was  not  a 
bred  soldier,  he  was  sensible  and  sagacious  in  him- 
self, and  attentive  to  good  advice  from  others,  capa- 
ble of  forming  judicious  plans,  and  quick  and  active 
in  carrying  them  into  execution.  Loudoun,  instead 
of  defending  the  colonies  with  his  great  army,  left 
them  totally  expos'd,  while  he  paraded  idly  at  Hali- 
fax, by  which  means  Fort  George  was  lost,  besides, 
he  derang'd  all  our  mercantile  operations,  and  dis- 
tress'd  our  trade,  by  a  long  embargo  on  the  expor- 
tation of  provisions,  on  pretence  of  keeping  supplies 
from  being  obtain'd  by  the  enemy,  but  in  reality  for 
beating  down  their  price  in  favor  of  the  contractors, 
in  whose  profits,  it  was  said,  perhaps  from  suspicion 
only,  he  had  a  share.  And,  when  at  length  the  em- 
bargo was  taken  off,  by  neglecting  to  send  notice  of 
it  to  Charlestown,  the  Carolina  fleet  was  detain'd 
near  three  months  longer,  whereby  their  bottoms 
were  so  much  damaged  by  the  worm  that  a  great 
part  of  them  foundered  in  their  passage  home. 

Shirley  was,  I  believe,  sincerely  glad  of  being  re- 
lieved from  so  burdensome  a  charge  as  the  conduct 
of  an  army  must  be  to  a  man  unacquainted  with 
military  business.  I  was  at  the  entertainment  given 
by  the  city  of  New  York  to  Lord  Loudoun,  on  his 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  359 

taking  upon  him  the  command.  Shirley,  tho' 
thereby  superseded,  was  present  also.  There  was 
a  great  company  of  officers,  citizens,  and  strangers, 
and,  some  chairs  having  been  borrowed  in  tb* 
neighborhood,  there  was  one  among  them  very  low, 
which  fell  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Shirley.  Perceiving  it 
as  I  sat  by  him,  I  said,  "  They  have  given  you,  sir, 
too  low  a  seat."  "No  matter,"  says  he,  "Mr. 
Franklin,  I  find  a  low  seat  the  easiest." 

While  I  was,  as  afore  mention'd,  detain'd  at 
New  York,  I  receiv'd  all  the  accounts  of  the  pro- 
visions, etc.,  that  I  had  furnish'd  to  Braddock,  some 
of  which  accounts  could  not  sooner  be  obtain'd  from 
the  different  persons  I  had  employ'd  to  assist  in 
the  business.  I  presented  them  to  Lord  Loudoun, 
desiring  to  be  paid  the  ballance.  He  caus'd  them 
to  be  regularly  examined  by  the  proper  officer,  who, 
after  comparing  every  article  with  its  voucher,  cer 
tified  them  to  be  right;  and  the  balance  due  for 
which  his  lordship  promis'd  to  give  me  an  order  on 
the  paymaster.  This  was,  however,  put  off  from 
time  to  time ;  and,  tho'  I  calPd  often  for  it  by 
appointment,  I  did  not  get  it.  At  length,  just  be- 
fore my  departure,  he  told  me  he  had,  on  better 
consideration,  concluded  not  to  mix  his  accounts 
with  those  of  his  predecessors.  "And  you,"  says 
he,  "when  in  England,  have  only  to  exhibit  your 
accounts  at  the  treasury,  and  you  will  be  paid 
immediately." 

I  mention'd,  but  without  effect,  the  great  and  unex- 


360  AUTOBIOGRAPH2    OF 

pected  expense  I  had  been  put  to  by  being  detain'd 
so  long  at  New  York,  as  a  reason  for  my  desiring  to 
be  presently  paid ;  and  on  my  observing  that  it  was 
not  right  I  should  be  put  to  any  further  trouble  or 
delay  in  obtaining  the  money  I  had  advanc'd,  is  I 
charged  no  commission  for  my  service,  "  O,  sir," 
says  he,  "  you  must  not  think  of  persuading  us  that 
you  are  no  gainer ;  we  understand  better  those  affairs, 
and  know  that  every  one  concerned  in  supplying 
the  army  finds  means,  in  the  doing  it,  to  fill  his  own 
pockets."  I  assur'd  him  that  was  not  my  case,  and 
that  I  had  not  pocketed  a  farthing ;  but  he  appear'd 
clearly  not  to  believe  me ;  and,  indeed,  I  have  since 
learnt  that  immense  fortunes  are  often  made  in 
such  employments.  As  to  my  ballance,  I  am  not 
paid  it  to  this  day,  of  which  more  hereafter. 

Our  captain  of  the  paquet  had  boasted  much,  be- 
fore we  sailed,  of  the  swiftness  of  his  ship  ;  unfor- 
tunately, when  we  came  to  sea,  she  proved  the 
dullest  of  ninety-six  sail,  to  his  no  small  mortifica- 
tion. After  many  conjectures  respecting  the  cause, 
when  we  were  near  another  ship  almost  as  dull  as 
ours,  which,  however,  gain'd  upon  us,  the  captain 
ordered  all  hands  to  come  aft,  and  stand  as  near  the 
ensign  staff  as  possible.  We  were,  passengers  in- 
cluded, about  forty  persons.  While  we  stood  there, 
the  ship  mended  her  pace,  and  soon  left  her  neigh- 
bour far  behind,  which  prov'd  clearly  what  our 
captain  suspected,  that  she  was  loaded  too  much  by 
the  head.     The  casks  of  water,  it  seems,  had  been 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  36 1 

all  plac'd  forward ;  these  he  therefore  order'd  to  be 
mov'd  further  aft,  on  which  the  ship  recover'd  her 
character,  and  proved  the  best  sailer  in  the  fleet. 

The  captain  said  she  had  once  gone  at  the 
rate  of  thirteen  knots,  which  is  accounted  thir- 
teen miles  per  hour.  We  had  on  board,  as  a  pas- 
senger, Captain  Kennedy,  of  the  Navy,  who  con- 
tended that  it  was  impossible,  and  that  no  ship 
ever  sailed  so  fast,  and  that  there  must  have  been 
some  error  in  the  division  of  the  log-line,  or  some 
mistake  in  heaving  the  log.  A  wager  ensu'd  be- 
tween the  two  captains,  to  be  decided  when  there 
should  be  sufficient  wind.  Kennedy  thereupon  ex- 
amin'd  rigorously  the  log-line,  and,  being  satisfi'd 
with  that,  he  determin'd  to  throw  the  log  himself. 
Accordingly  some  days  after,  when  the  wind  blew 
very  fair  and  fresh,  and  the  captain  of  the  paquet, 
Lutwidge,  said  he  believ'd  she  then  went  at  the  rate 
of  thirteen  knots,  Kennedy  made  the  experiment, 
and  own'd  his  wager  lost. 

The  above  fact  I  give  for  the  sake  of  the  follow- 
ing observation.  It  has  been  remark'd,  as  an  im- 
perfection in  the  art  of  ship-building,  that  it  can 
never  be  known,  till  she  is  tried,  whether  a  new 
ship  will  or  will  not  be  a  good  sailer ;  for  that  the 
model  of  a  good-sailing  ship  has  been  exactly 
follow'd  in  a  new  one,  which  has  prov'd,  on  the 
contrary,  remarkably  dull.  I  apprehend  that  this 
may  partly  be  occasion'd  by  the  different  opinions 

of  seamen  respecting  the  modes  of  lading,  rigging, 
31  q 


3b2  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  sailing  of  a  ship ;  each  has  his  system  ;  and  the 
same  vessel,  laden  by  the  judgment  and  orders  of 
one  captain,  shall  sail  better  or  worse  than  when  by 
the  orders  of  another.  Besides,  it  scarce  ever  hap- 
pens that  a  ship  is  formed,  fitted  for  the  sea,  and 
sail'd  by  the  same  person.  One  man  builds  the 
hull,  another  rigs  her,  a  third  lades  and  sails  her. 
No  one  of  these  has  the  advantage  of  knowing  all 
the  ideas  and  experience  of  the  others,  and,  there- 
fore, can  not  draw  just  conclusions  from  a  combina- 
tion of  the  whole. 

Even  in  the  simple  operation  of  sailing  when  at 
sea,  I  have  often  observ'd  different  judgments  in  the 
officers  who  commanded  the  successive  watches,  the 
wind  being  the  same.  One  would  have  the  sails 
trimm'd  sharper  or  flatter  than  another,  so  that  they 
seem'd  to  have  no  certain  rule  to  govern  by.  Yet 
I  think  a  set  of  experiments  might  be  instituted, 
first,  to  determine  the  most  proper  form  of  the  hull 
for  swift  sailing ;  next,  the  best  dimensions  and  pro- 
perest  place  for  the  masts  ;  then  the  form  and  quan- 
tity of  sails,  and  their  position,  as  the  wind  may  be ; 
and,  lastly,  the  disposition  of  the  lading.  This  is  an 
age  of  experiments,  and  I  think  a  set  accurately 
made  and  combin'd  would  be  of  great  use.  I  am 
persuaded,  therefore,  that  ere  long  some  ingenious 
philosopher  will  undertake  it,  to  whom  I  wish 
success. 

We  were  several  times  chas'd  in  our  passage,  but 
outsail'd  every  thing,  and  in  thirty  days  had  sound- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  363 

ii.gs.  We  had  a  good  observation,  and  the  captain 
judg'd  himself  so  near  our  port,  Falmouth,  that,  if 
we  made  a  good  run  in  the  night,  we  might  be  off 
the  mouth  of  that  harbor  in  the  morning,  and  by 
running  in  the  night  might  escape  the  notice  of  the 
enemy's  privateers,  who  often  cruis'd  near  the  en- 
trance of  the  channel.  Accordingly,  all  the  sail 
was  set  that  we  could  possibly  make,  and  the  wind 
being  very  fresh  and  fair,  we  went  right  before  it, 
and  made  great  way.  The  captain,  after  his  ob- 
servation, shap'd  his  course,  as  he  thought,  so  as  to 
pass  wide  of  the  Scilly  Isles ;  but  it  seems  there  is 
sometimes  a  strong  indraught  setting  up  St.  George's 
Channel,  which  deceives  seamen  and  caused  the  loss 
of  Sir  Cloudesley  Shovel's  squadron.  This  in- 
draught was  probably  the  cause  of  what  happened 
to  us. 

We  had  a  watchman  plac'd  in  the  bow,  to  whom 
they  often  called,  "Look  well  out  before  there? 
and  he  as  often  answered,  "Ay,  ay;"  but  perhaps 
had  his  eyes  shut,  and  was  half  asleep  at  the  time, 
they  sometimes  answering,  as  is  said,  mechanically ; 
for  he  did  not  see  a  light  just  before  us,  which  had 
been  hid  by  the  studding-sails  from  the  man  at  the 
helm,  and  from  the  rest  of  the  watch,  but  by  an 
accidental  yaw  of  the  ship  was  discover'd,  and 
occasion'd  a  great  alarm,  we  being  very  near  it, 
the  light  appearing  to  me  as  big  as  a  cart-wheel. 
It  was  midnight,  and  our  captain  fast  asleep ;  but 
Captain  Kennedy,  jumping  upon  deck,  and  seeing 


364  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  danger,  ordered  the  ship  to  wear  round,  all  sails 
standing ;  an  operation  dangerous  to  the  masts,  but 
it  carried  us  clear,  and  we  escaped  shipwreck,  for  we 
were  running  right  upon  the  rocks  on  which  the  light- 
house was  erected.  This  deliverance  impressed  me 
strongly  with  the  utility  of  light-houses,  and  made 
rne  resolve  to  encourage  the  building  more  of  them 
in  America,  if  I  should  live  to  return  there. 

In  the  morning  it  was  found  by  the  soundings,  etc., 
that  we  were  near  our  port,  but  a  thick  fog  hid  the 
land  from  our  sight.  About  nine  o'clock  the  fog 
began  to  rise,  and  seem'd  to  be  lifted  up  from  the 
water  like  the  curtain  at  a  play-house,  discovering 
underneath,  the  town  of  Falmouth,  the  vessels  in  its 
harbor,  and  the  fields  that  surrounded  it.  This  was 
a  most  pleasing  spectacle  to  those  who  had  been  so 
long  without  any  other  prospects  than  the  uniform 
view  of  a  vacant  ocean,  and  it  gave  us  the  more 
pleasure  as  we  were  now  free  from  the  anxieties 
which  the  state  of  war  occasion'd. 

I  set  out  immediately,  with  my  son,  for  London, 
and  we  only  stopt  a  little  by  the  way  to  view 
Stonehenge  on  Salisbury  Plain,  and  Lord  Pem- 
broke's house  and  gardens,  with  his  very  curious 
antiquities  at  Wilton.  We  arrived  in  London  the 
27th  of  July,  1757.* 


*  Here  terminates  the  Autobiography,  as  published  by  Wm.  Temple 
Franklin  and  his  successors.  What  follows  was  written  the  last  year  of 
Dr.  Franklin's  life,  and  was  never  before  printed  in  English. — Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  365 

Under  date  of  February  3d,  1757,  the  following  entry  appears  in  the 
journal  of  the  Assembly : 

"  Mr.  Speaker  and  Mr.  Franklin  being  called  upon  by  the  House  to  de- 
clare whether  they  would  comply  with  the  request  of  the  House  in  going 
home  to  England  to  solicit  a  redress  of  our  grievances,  Mr.  Franklin  said 
that  he  esteemed  the  nomination  by  the  House  to  that  service  as  an  high 
honor,  but  that  he  thought  that  if  the  Speaker  could  be  prevailed  upon  to 
undertake  it  (the  Speaker  having  practically  just  declined  in  consequence 
of  ill  health),  his  long  experience  in  our  public  affairs  and  great  knowledge 
and  abilities  would  render  the  addition  of  another  unnecessary.  That  he 
held  himself  honored  in  the  disposition  of  the  House,  and  '  was  ready  to 
go  whenever  they  should  think  fit  to  require  his  services.' 

'  Unanimous  thanks  given,  etc.,  and  Benjamin  Franklin  was  appointed 
Agent  of  the  Province.  William  Franklin  had  leave  to  resign  his  position 
as  clerk  to  accompany  his  father." 


AS  soon  as  I  was  settled  in  a  lodging  Mr. 
Charles  had  provided  for  me,  I  went  to  visit 
Dr.  Fothergill,  to  whom  I  was  strongly  recommended, 
and  whose  counsel  respecting  my  proceedings  T  was 
advis'd  to  obtain.*  He  was  against  an  immediate 
complaint  to  government,  and  thought  the  proprie- 
taries   should    first    be    personally    appli'd    to,    who 


*  Dr.  Franklin  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Fothergill  in  his  visit  to 
London  in  1757,  and  during  a  severe  attack  of  intermittent  fever,  in  the 
fall  of  that  year,  Fothergill  was  his  attending  physician.  He  was  famous 
in  those  days  as  a  naturalist  no  less  than  as  a  physician.  I  am  indebted 
to  my  learned  and  accomplished  friend,  the  Hon.  George  Van  Bunsen,  of 
Berlin,  for  the  following  interesting  facts  about  the  Doctor: 

"  In  1762  he  bought  some  land  with  a  house  on  it  in  the  east  of  London 
and  parish  of  West  Ham.  The  house  was  called  Upton  House,  which 
afterwards  was  changed  to  Ham  House,  well  known  in  the  days  of  Samuel 
Gurney  and  his  sister,  Elizabeth  Fry.  The  gardens,  which  are  now  trans- 
formed into  a  public  park,  were  then  famous  through  the  exotics  cultivated 
there  by  the  magnanimous  physician. 
365  a 


-r 


DR    JOHN   FOTHERGILL. 

(From  a  medallion  in  possession  of  Madame  Ernest  Von  Bunsen,  Abbey 
Lodge,  London.) 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  365  5 

might  possibly  be  induc'd  by  the  interposition  and 
persuasion  of  some  private  friends,  to  accommodate 


"  Sir  Joseph  Banks  declared  them  to  be  the  second  in  Europe,  only 
Kew  gardens  claiming  a  higher  rank.  From  thence  he  sallied  forth  daily 
in  his  carriage  and  four  to  see  his  patients  in  the  West  End." 

There  is  a  bust  of  Dr.  Fothergill,  which  was  formerly  at  Ham  House, 
now  to  be  seen  at  Abbey  Lodge,  Regent's  Park,  London,  the  residence  of 
the  Hon.  Ernest  von  Bunsen. 

Some  papers,  now  in  the  possession  of  John  Henry  Gurney,  Esq.,  of 
Keswick  Hall,  Norwich,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  valuable  and 
characteristic  letter  of  Franklin  to  Dr.  Fothergill,  of  March  14th,  1764 
{infra),  authorize  the  presumption  that  Dr.  Fothergill  paid  for  the  re- 
printing of  Barclay's  "  Apology." 

He  died  early  in  the  year  1781.  In  a  letter  to  David  Barclay,  from  Passy, 
dated  12  February  of  that  year,  Franklin  wrote : 

"  I  condole  with  you  most  seriously  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Fothergill.  I 
hope  that  some  one  that  knew  him  well  will  do  justice  to  his  memory 
by  an  account  of  his  life  and  character.  He  was  a  great  doer  of  good. 
How  much  might  have  been  done  and  mischief  prevented  if  his,  your, 
and  my  joint  endeavors,  on  a  certain  melancholy  affair,  had  been  at- 
tended to." 

The  allusion  here  is  to  a  negotiation  undertaken  by  Dr.  Franklin,  Dr. 
Fothergill,  Mr.  Barclay,  a  grandson  of  Robert  Barclay,  author  of  the 
"  Apology  for  the  Principles  and  Doctrines  of  the  People  called  Quakers," 
and  Lord  Howe.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Lettsom,  afterwards  the  biographer 
of  Dr.  Fothergill,  dated  March  17,  1783,  Franklin  again  refers  to  these 
negotiations. 

"  Our  late  excellent  friend  was  always  proposing  something  for  the  good 
of  mankind.  You  will  find  instances  of  this  in  one  of  his  letters  which  I 
enclose,  the  only  one  I  can  at  present  lay  my  hands  on.  I  have  some 
very  valuable  ones  in  America,  if  they  are  not  lost  in  the  late  confusions. 
Just  before  I  left  England,  he,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Barclay  and  my- 
self, labored  hard  to  prevent  the  coming  war,  but  our  endeavors  were 
fruitless.  This  transaction  was  alluded  to  in  the  first  page.  If  we  may 
estimate  the  goodness  of  a  man  by  his  disposition  to  do  good  and  his 
constant  endeavors  and  success  in  doing  it,  I  can  hardly  conceive  that  a 
better  man  has  ever  existed." 

The  failure  of  the  negotiations  above  referred  to  is  the  topic  of  the  follow- 
ing interesting  letters  from  Fothergill,  one  to  Lord  Dartmouth,  dated  6th 
of  February,  1775,  and  the  other  to  Dr.  Barclay,  of  the  21st. 

"  I  wish  it  had  been  in  my  power  to  have  informed  my  noble  friend  that 


365  ^  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

matters  amicably.     I  then  waited  on  my  old  friend 
and   correspondent,    Mr.    Peter   Collinson,   who   told 


our  negotiation  had  been  successful.  But  it  is  not,  and  thus,  not  owing  to 
want  of  attention  or,  willingness  of  my  friend  or  me  to  promote  a  recon- 
ciliation nor  to  any  opposition  or  refractory  disposition  in  Dr.  Franklin, 
our  difficulties  arose  from  the  American  acts,  viz.,  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  the 
Government  of  the  Massachusetts,  and  the  Quebec  Act.  As  a  concession 
to  pay  a  tax  was  the  sine  qua  non  on  this  side,  so  a  rescinding  of  those 
acts,  or  rather  repealing  them,  is  the  terms  of  reconciliation  on  the 
other. 

"As  we  had  not  permission  to  give  any  hopes  that  these  acts  would  be 
repealed,  to  ask  anything  else,  however  easily  consented  to  here,  would 
not  be  satisfactory  on  the  other  side,  and  therefore  an  Assembly  of  the 
Delegates,  authorized  to  treat  upon  the  means  of  establishing  a  good 
understanding  between  the  parties  at  variance,  without  removing  this 
obstacle,  would  be  wholly  ineffectual.  We  found  that  the  delegates  to 
the  late  Congress  were  chosen  in  the  respective  provinces  by  the  people 
who  have  a  right  to  vote  for  Representatives,  and  in  general  by  no  other, 
so  that,  whatever  may  be  thrown  out  to  the  contrary,  we  apprehend  will 
be  found  not  to  be  authentic. 

"  Dr.  Franklin  would  have  no  objection  to  meet  the  noble  lords  who 
were  pleased  to  intimate  that  our  endeavors  to  promote  a  reconciliation 
would  not  be  unacceptable,  and  to  consider  the  whole  affair  with  the 
utmost  candor  and  privacy,  could  it  in  the  least  avert  these  evils  which 
are  inevitably  impending,  without  some  intervention  on  both  parts  of  the 
great  empire. 

'"  Was  the  whole  Ad n  as  cordially  disposed  to  peace  and  as  sensible 

of  its  advantages  as  Lord  Dartmouth,  I  think  there  would  be  very  little 
difficulty  in  accomplishing  it,  but  I  see  and  perceive  so  strong  a  current 
another  way  that  I  despair,  without  the  interposition  of  Omnipotence,  of 
any  reconciliation. 

"  The  only  thing  left  for  the  generality  of  these  devoted  countries  is  to 
look  for  superior  protection.  The  great  will  always  be  the  great  in  every 
revolution  that  can  happen,  the  poor  will  always  be  the  heirs  of  misery, 
let  who  will  be  their  superiors,  a  numerous,  very  numerous  part  of  both 
country's,  the  middling  people  who  bear  all  burdens,  who  produce  all  ihe 
strength  and  happiness  of  states,  these  must  be  the  sufferers.     Though 

the  K 's  servants  happily  coincide  in  adopting  the  simple  plan  of 

pacification  which  our  noble  friends  so  generously  concurred  in  and 
include  the  repeal  of  the  acts  above  mentioned,  we  have  not  the  least 
doubt  but  America  would  immediately  return  to  every  just  expression  of 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  365  d 

me  that  John   Hanbur}r,  the  great  Virginia  merchant, 
had  requested  to  be  informed  when  I  should  arrive, 


duty  both  in  language  and  in  conduct.  Dr.  Franklin,  should  this  be 
tacitly  consented  to,  would  not  have  the  least  objection  to  petition  for  the 
restoration  of  peace ;  offer  on  the  part  of  Boston  to  pay  the  East  India 
Company  for  the  tea,  though  at  the  risk  of  his  own  private  fortune,  and 
endeavor,  bona  fide,  to  concert  every  means  of  a  lasting  and  reciprocally 
beneficial  union. 

"  Should  it,  however,  be  determined  to  proceed  with  force  to  reduce  the 
Americans  to  a  different  way  of  thinking  and  subject  them  by  hostile 
means,  I  most  sincerely  wish  that  the  enemies  of  my  noble  friend,  if  any 
such  there  be,  may  enjoy  the  power  of  issuing  such  sanguinary  conces- 
sion. 

"  I  am  Lord  Dartmouth's  obliged  and  respected  friend, 

"  J.  FOTHERGILL. 

"  Endorsed  Dr.  F.  to  Lord  Dartmouth." 

To  Dr.  Barclay. 

"  21st  inst. 

"  When  I  reflect,  my  dear  friend,  on  the  disregard,  call  it  by  no  harsher 
a  name,  with  which  our  opinions  have  been  uniformly  treated,  though  the 
events  have  shown  them  to  be  not  imprudent  ones  it  affords  me  but  a 
melancholy  proof  that  everything  that  we  can  suggest  will  either  be  totally 
neglected  or  adopted  but  by  halves. 

"  For  these  considerations  I  am  against  offering  any  opinion  at  all  on  a 
strong  presumption  that  what  we  may  offer  will  just  have  the  fate  with  our 
former  endeavors. 

"  Two  years  ago,  nay  one  year,  I  believe,  we  should  neither  of  us  have 
hesitated  to  go  even  to  America,  and,  had  our  powers  been  then  what  they 
ought  to  have  been  at  the  former  period,  we  should  have  prevented  inde- 
pendency, and  at  the  latter  made  a  firm  commercial  compact  and  pre- 
vented desolations  that  will,  whilst  history  remains,  disgrace  the  annals  of 
their  unhappy  country.  Treated,  however,  as  we  have  been,  I  will  please 
myself  with  a  hope  that  what  may  now  be  suggested  by  us  will  be  better 
attended  to,  and  therefore  put  down  the  result  of  our  conversation  of  last 
night  as  still  my  opinion. 

"  That  the  matter  is  too  far  advanced  for  any  private  person  to  do  the 
publick  any  good  is  most  certain.  Perhaps  all  modes  of  preventing  the 
approaching  calamity  will  be  utterly  ineffectual.  I  still  think  that  Lord 
Stormont  should  leave  Paris  as  coming  home  on  his  private  affairs  or  be 
sent  to  some  other  place ;  that  another  should  be  sent  in  his  place,  one  not 
obnoxious  to  the  Court  of  Versailles,  nor  unknown  to  Franklin.     That  his 

Q* 


366  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

that  he  might  carry  me  to  Lord  Granville's,  who  was 
then  President  of  the  Council  and  wished  to  see  me 
as  soon  as  possible.  I  agreed  to  go  with  him  the 
next  morning.  Accordingly  Mr.  Hanbury  called 
for  me  and  took  me  in  his  carriage  to  that  noble- 
man's, who  receiv'd  me  with  great  civility;  and 
after  some  questions  respecting  the  present  state  of 
affairs  in  America  and  discourse  thereupon,  he  said 
to  me  :  "  You  Americans  have  wrong  ideas  of  the 
nature  of  your  constitution ;  you  contend  that  the 
king's  instructions  to  his  governors  are  not  laws, 
and  think  yourselves  at  liberty  to  regard  or  dis- 
regard them  at  your  own  discretion.  But  those 
instructions  are  not  like  the  pocket  instructions  given 
to  a  minister  going  abroad,  for  regulating  his  con- 
duct in  some  trifling  point  of  ceremony.  They  are 
first  drawn  up  by  judges  learned  in  the  laws;  they 
are  then  considered,  debated,  and  perhaps  amended 
in  Council,  after  which  they  are  signed  by  the  king. 
They  are  then,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  you,  the  law 
of  the  land,  for  the  king  is  the  Legislator  of  the 


business  should  be  with  the  latter,  and  his  instructions  should  be  only,  say 
to  F.,  what  measures  can  at  this  juncture  be  adopted  most  for  the  benefit 
of  his  country  and  America,  and  they  be  adopted  by  us  bona  fide. 

"  A  single  reservation  will  destroy  the  whole  and  render  the  attempt  as 
ineffectual  as  all  the  expedients  have  been  hitherto.  It  requires  an  apti- 
'  tude  of  heart  which  I  fear  is  not  to  be  met  with  to  save  us  from  ruin.  But 
it  must  be  on  a  ground  like  this  that  we  can  be  saved  if  we  are  to.  Two 
months  ago  a  private  person  thus  instructed  might  have  done  everything. 
It  must  now  be  the  business  of  a  man  in  a  publick  and  responsible  charac- 
ter. 

"  I  am  thy  afflicted  friend.'' 

Ed. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  36; 

Colonies."  I  told  his  lordship  this  was  new  doc- 
trine to  me.  I  had  always  understood  from  our 
charters  that  our  laws  were  to  be  made  by  our  As- 
semblies, to  be  presented  indeed  to  the  king  for  his 
royal  assent,  but  that  being  once  given  the  king 
could  not  repeal  or  alter  them.  And  as  the  Assem- 
blies could  not  make  permanent  laws  without  his 
assent,  so  neither  could  he  make  a  law  for  them 
without  theirs.  He  assur'd  me  I  was  totally  mis- 
taken. I  did  not  think  so,  however,  and  his  lord- 
ship's conversation  having  a  little  alarm'd  me  as  to 
what  might  be  the  sentiments  of  the  court  concern- 
ing us,  I  wrote  it  down  as  soon  as  I  return'd  to  my 
lodgings.  I  recollected  that  about  20  years  before, 
a  clause  in  a  bill  brought  into  Parliament  by  the 
ministry  had  propos'd  to  make  the  king's  instruc- 
tions laws  in  the  colonies,  but  the  clause  was  thrown 
out  by  the  Commons,  for  which  we  adored  them  as 
our  friends  and  friends  of  liberty,  till  by  their  con- 
duct towards  us  in  1765  it  seem'd  that  they  had 
refus'd  that  point  of  sovereignty  to  the  king  only 
that  they  might  reserve  it  for  themselves. 

After  some  days,  Dr.  Fothergill  having  spoken  to 
the  proprietaries,  they  agreed  to  a  meeting  with  me 
at  Mr.  T.  Penn's  house  in  Spring  Garden.  The 
conversation  at  first  consisted  of  mutual  declarations 
of  disposition  to  reasonable  accommodations,  but  I 
suppose  each  party  had  its  own  ideas  of  what  should 
be  meant  by  reasonable.  We  then  went  into  con- 
sideration of  our  several  points  of  complaint,  which 


368  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

I  enumerated.  The  proprietaries  justify'd  their  con- 
duct as  well  as  they  could,  and  I  the  Assembly's. 
We  now  appeared  very  wide,  and  so  far  from  each 
other  in  our  opinions  as  to  discourage  all  hope  of 
agreement.  However,  it  was  concluded  that  1 
should  give  them  the  heads  of  our  complaints  in 
writing,  and  they  promis'd  then  to  consider  them. 
I  did  so  soon  after,  but  they  put  the  paper  into  the 
hands  of  their  solicitor,  Ferdinand  John  Paris,  who 
managed  for  them  all  their  law  business  in  their 
great  suit  with  the  neighbouring  proprietary  of 
Maryland,  Lord  Baltimore,  which  had  subsisted  70 
years,  and  wrote  for  them  all  their  papers  and  mes- 
sages in  their  dispute  with  the  Assembly.  He  was 
a  proud,  angry  man,  and  as  I  had  occasionally  in 
the  answers  of  the  Assembly  treated  his  papers  with 
some  severity,  they  being  really  weak  in  point  of 
argument  and  haughty  in  expression,  he  had  con- 
ceived a  mortal  enmity  to  me,  which  discovering 
itself  whenever  we  met,  I  declin'd  the  proprietary's 
proposal  that  he  and  I  should  discuss  the  heads  of 
complaint  between  our  two  selves,  and  refus'd  treat- 
ing with  any  one  but  them.  They  then  by  his  ad-, 
vice  put  the  paper  into  the  hands  of  the  Attoi  ney 
and  Solicitor-General  for  their  opinion  and  counsel 
upon  it,  where  it  lay  unanswered  a  year  wanting 
eight  days,  during  which  time  I  made  frequent 
demands  of  an  answer  from  the  proprietaries,  but 
without  obtaining  any  other  than  that  they  had  not 
yet  received  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney  and  Soli- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  369 

citor-General.  What  it  was  when  they  did  receive 
it  I  never  learnt,  for  they  did  not  communicate  it  to 
me,  but  sent  a  long  message  to  the  Assembly  drawn 
and  signed  by  Paris,  reciting  my  paper,  complaining 
of  its  want  of  formality,  as  a  rudeness  on  my  part, 
and  giving  a  flimsy  justification  of  their  conduct, 
adding  that  they  should  be  willing  to  accommodate 
matters  if  the  Assembly  would  send  out  some  person 
of  candour  to  treat  with  them  for  that  purpose,  inti- 
mating thereby  that  I  was  not  such. 

The  want  of  formality  or  rudeness  was,  probably, 
my  not  having  address'd  the  paper  to  them  with 
their  assum'd  titles  of  True  and  Absolute  Proprie- 
taries of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  which  I 
omitted  as  not  thinking  it  necessary  in  a  paper,  the 
intention  of  which  was  only  to  reduce  to  a  certainty 
by  writing,  what  in  conversation  I  had  delivered 
viva  voce. 

But  during  this  delay,  the  Assembly  having  pre- 
vailed with  Gov'r  Denny  to  pass  an  act  taxing  the 
proprietary  estate  in  common  with  the  estates  of 
the  people,  which  was  the  grand  point  in  dispute, 
they  omitted  answering  the  message. 

When  this  act  however  came  over,  the  proprieta- 
ries, counselled  by  Paris,  determined  to  oppose  its 
receiving  the  royal  assent.  Accordingly  they  pe- 
tition^ the  king  in  Council,  and  a  hearing  was 
appointed  in  which  two  lawyers  were  employ'd  by 
them  against  the  act,  and  two  by  me  in  support  of 
it.  They  alledg'd  that  the  act  was  intended  to  load 
33 


370  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  proprietary  estate  in  order  to  spare  those  of  the 
people,  and  that  if  it  were  suffer'd  to  continue  in 
force,  and  the  proprietaries  who  were  in  odium  with 
the  people,  left  to  their  mercy  in  proportioning  the 
taxes,  they  would  inevitably  be  ruined.  We  reply'd 
that  the  act  had  no  such  intention,  and  would  have 
no  such  effect.  That  the  assessors  were  honest  ana 
discreet  men  under  an  oath  to  assess  fairly  and 
equitably,  and  that  any  advantage  each  of  them 
might  expect  in  lessening  his  own  tax  by  augment- 
ing that  of  the  proprietaries  was  too  trifling  to  induce 
them  to  perjure  themselves.  This  is  the  purport  of 
what  I  remember  as  urged  by  both  sides,  except 
that  we  insisted  strongly  on  the  mischievous  conse- 
quences that  must  attend  a  repeal,  for  that  the 
money,  £100,000,  being  printed  and  given  to  the 
king's  use,  expended  in  his  service,  and  now  spread 
among  the  people,  the  repeal  would  strike  it  dead 
in  their  hands  to  the  ruin  of  many,  and  the  total 
discouragement  of  future  grants,  and  the  selfishness 
of  the  proprietors  in  soliciting  such  a  general  catas- 
trophe, merely  from  a  groundless  fear  of  their  estate 
being  taxed  too  highly,  was  insisted  on  in  the 
strongest  terms.  On  this,  Lord  Mansfield,  one  of 
the  counsel  rose,  and  beckoning  me  took  me  into 
the  clerk's  chamber,  while  the  lawyers  were  plead- 
ing, and  asked  me  if  I  was  really  of  opinion  that  no 
injury  would  be  done  the  proprietary  estate  in  the 
execution  of  the  act.  I  said  certainly.  "Then," 
says  he,  "  you  can  have  little  objection  to  enter  into 


BENJAMIN  FRAl\.         -  ^2a 

an   engagement  to   assure  that  point.  "°^ 

"  None  at  all."  He  then  call'd  in  Paris,  &<p 
some  discourse,  his  lordship's  proposition  w 
cepted  on  both  sides ;  a  paper  to  the  purpose  \> 
drawn  up  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Council,  which  I 
sign'd  with  Mr.  Charles,  who  was  also  an  Agent 
of  the  Province  for  their  ordinary  affairs,  when  Lord 
Mansfield  returned  to  the  Council  Chamber,  where 
finally  the  law  was  allowed  to  pass.  Some  changes 
were  however  recommended  and  we  also  engaged 
they  should  be  made  by  a  subsequent  law,  but  the 
Assembly  did  not  think  them  necessary ;  for  one 
year's  tax  having  been  levied  by  the  act  before  the 
order  of  Council  arrived,  they  appointed  a  committee 
to  examine  the  proceedings  of  the  assessors,  and  on 
this  committee  they  put  several  particular  friends  of 
the  proprietaries.  After  a  full  enquiry,  they  unani- 
mously sign'd  a  report  that  they  found  the  tax  had 
been  assess'd  with  perfect  equity. 

The  Assembly  looked  into  my  entering  into  the 
first  part  of  the  engagement,  as  an  essential  service 
to  the  Province,  since  it  secured  the  credit  of  the 
paper  money  then  spread  over  all  the  country.  They 
gave  me  their  thanks  in  form  when  I  return'd. 
But  the  proprietaries  were  enraged  at  Governor 
Denny  for  having  pass'd  the  act,  and  turn'd  him 
out  with  threats  of  suing  him  for  breach  of  instruc- 
tions which  he  had  given  bond  to  observe.  He, 
however,  having  done  it  at  the  instance  of  the 
General,  and  for  His  Majesty's  service,  and  having 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 
37° 

^me  powerful  interest  at  court,  despis'd  the  threats 
and  they  were  never  put  in  execution.* 


*  The  question  of  taxing  the  American  possessions  of  the  Penn  family, 
in  America,  which  it  was  Franklin's  mission  to  insist  upon  in  London,  was 
already  rapidly  merging  into  the  graver  and  more  complicated  questions 
raised  by  the  pretensions  of  the  Crown  to  tax  all  the  Colonies  without 
representation  in  Parliament.  Both  questions  were  destined  to  be  settled 
by  the  dread  arbitrament  of  war,  substantially  in  accordance  with  the 
pretensions  of  the  Colonists,  and  we  hear  nothing  more  of  the  proprietary 
quarrel  from  Franklin.  The  Proprietaries,  however,  had  little  cause  per- 
sonally to  complain  of  the  final  result,  as  appears  by  a  recent  Parlia- 
mentary Report  on  "  Perpetual  Pensions,"  ordered  to  be  printed  July  29, 
1887,  from  which  we  copy  the  following  minute : 

"  It  is  recited  in  the  Act  30  Geo.  III.,  c.  46,  that  King  Charles  the  2nd 
by  Letters  Patent  granted  to  William  Perm,  Esquire,  his  heirs  and  assigns, 
all  that  tract  of  land  in  North  America  now  or  late  called  the  Province  or 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  recited  that  all  the  estates,  rights,  and  inter- 
ests which  were  comprised  in  the  said  patent  have  become  vested  in  John 
Penn,  of  Stoke  Pogis,  in  the  County  of  Bucks,  Esquire,  and  John  Penn 
of  Wimpole  Street,  in  the  Parish  of  Saint  Marylebone,  in  the  County  of 
Middlesex,  Esquire,  and  their  descendants,  with  several  remainders  ovei 
in  the  proportion  of  three-fourths  to  John  Penn,  of  Stoke  Pogis,  and  one- 
fourth  to  John  Penn,  of  Wimpole  Street.  It  is  recited  that  by  an  Act  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  passed  on  the  27th  of  November,  1779,  it 
was  enacted  that  all  the  estate  whereof  the  heirs  and  devisees,  grantees, 
and  others  claiming  as  proprietaries  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania, 
stood  seized,  or  to  which  they  were  entitled  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  of, 
in,  or  to  the  soil  and  land  within  the  said  province,  under  the  provisions 
of  the  said  charter  or  grant  of  the  Crown  to  the  said  William  Penn  and 
his  heirs,  should  be  vested  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  the  citizens  thereof,  subject  to  the  disposal  of  the  then 
present  or  any  future  legislature  of  the  said  Commonwealth ;  and  that  it 
was  thereby  enacted  (amongst  other  things)  that  the  sum  of  ,£130,000 
should  be  paid  to  the  devisees  and  legatees  of  Thomas  Penn  and  Richard 
Penn,  Esquires,  deceased,  then  late  proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania  respect- 
ively, and  to  the  widow  and  relict  of  the  said  Thomas  Penn  in  proportion* 
thereafter  to  be  ascertained." 

It  is  stated  that,  in  consideration  of  the  great  extent  of  the  losses  above 
recited  and  of  the  meritorious  services  of  the  said  William  Penn,  it  is 
worthy  of  the  King's  royal  munificence  and  of  the  liberality  of  the  British 
nation  that  a  further  provision  should  be  made  for  the  descendants  of  the 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  372  a 

said  William  Penn  ;  and  that  the  House  of  Commons  has  for  that  purpose 
resolved  that  the  annual  sum  of  ,£4,000  be  granted  out  of  the  Consoli- 
dated Fund  to  the  heirs  and  descendants  of  the  said  William  Penn.  The 
pension  of  ,£4,000  a  year  forever  was  granted  to  certain  trustees  in  trust 
as  to  three-fourths  for  John  Penn,  of-  Stoke  Pogis,  and  his  descendants, 
and  as  to  one-fourth  to  John  Penn,  of  Wimpole  Street,  and  his  descend- 
ants. 

This  in  common  with  a  large  number  of  other  hereditary  pensions  was 
commuted  by  Act  of  Parliament  46  &  47  Vict.,  c.  1,  1884,  by  the  payment 
to  the  heirs  and  descendants  of  William  Penn  the  round  sum  of  ^"107,780, 
or  what  was  equivalent  to  about  twenty-seven  years'  purchase. 

In  the  course  of  an  investigation  by  a  select  committee  appointed  by  Par- 
liament "  to  inquire  into  the  circumstances  of  the  commutation  of  heredi- 
tary pensions,  allowances,  and  payments  which  have  been  commuted 
since  the  first  day  of  January,  1881,"  the  question  was  raised  by  the  late 
M.  Bradlaugh,  a  member  of  the  committee,  whether  Colonel  Stuart,  who 
was  the  recipient  of  the  commutation  money,  was  the  heir  or  nearest 
descendant  of  William  Penn.  Upon  this  point  Sir  R.  E.  Welby,  then 
Secretary  to  the  Treasury,  gave  the  following  testimony : 

"  With  regard  to  the  Penn  pension,  has  the  whole  of  it  been  com- 
muted?''    "  The  whole  of  it  has  been  commuted." 

"  From  1790  to  1884  ,£4,000  a  year  was  paid  by  the  nation  on  account 
of  the  pension,  was  it  not?"     "  Yes." 

"  And  then  ,£107,780  was  paid  to  commute  it?"  "  Yes." 
"  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  persons  to  whom  a  pension  and  commutation 
were  paid  were  not  the  heirs  and  descendants  of  William  Penn  at  all?" 
"  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  express  any  opinion  upon  that  point.  What  is 
the  case  is  that  the  Act  of  Parliament  directed  us  to  pay  it  to  those  persons, 
and  I  presume  that  Parliament  was  satisfied  at  that  time  that  they  repre- 
sented William  Penn." 

'*  And  you  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  they  were  the  heirs  or 
descendants  of  William  Penn  or  not?"  "No,  we  have  none;  we  cannot 
go  behind  an  Act  of  Parliament." 

"  But  there  is  no  certainty  whatever  that  this  money  ever  went  into  the 
hands  of  any  heirs  and  descendants  of  William  Penn  ?"    "Asa  matter  of 
fact,  I  believe  there  were  no  heirs  or  descendants  of  William  Penn.     I 
do  not  know  under  what  circumstances  these  gentlemen  claimed." 
"  Penn  himself  died  in  1718  ?"     "  Yes." 

"And  the  pension  was  not  granted  till  1790?"  "Yes.  It  is  stated  in 
the  Act  '  that,  in  consideration  of  the  great  extent  of  the  losses  and  meri- 
torious services  of  the  said  William  Penn,'  it  is  worthy  of  the  King's  royal 
munificence  and  of  the  liberality  of  the  British  nation  that  a  further  pro- 
rision  should  be  made  for  the  descendants  of  the  said  William  Penn  ;  and 
32* 


372  b 


A  UTOBIOGRAPHY. 


that  the  House  of  Commons  has  for  that  purpose  resolved  that  the  annual 
sum  of  ,£4,000  be  granted  out  of  the  Consolidated  Fund  to  the  heirs  and 
descendants  of  the  said  William  Penn.  The  pension  of  ^4,000  a  year 
forever  was  granted  to  certain  trustees  in  trust  as  to  three-fourths  for  John 
Penn,  of  Stoke  Pogis,  and  his  descendants,  and  as  to  one-fourth  for  John 
Penn,  of  Wimpole  Street,  and  his  descendants." — Ed. 


THE  LIFE  OF  FRANKLIN. 

WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 


CONTINUED. 


FROM   HIS  CORRESPONDENCE  AND  OTHER  WRITINGS. 


jpj^ttn:   ii. 

FROM    FRANKLIN'S   ARRIVAL   IN    ENGLAND  AS  AGENT  OF   THE   COLONY   OP 

PENNSYLVANIA,  IN  JUNE,  1757.  UNTIL  THE  CLOSE  OF  HIS  MISSION 

THERE  AND  RETURN  TO  PHILADELPHIA  IN  1775. 


373 


CHAPTER   I. 

Pope's  Works— Thomson's  "  Seasons"— Disciplines  James  Read— Enters 
his  Son  William  a  Student  of  Law  in  London— Settles  two  of  his 
Nephews  in  Business— Protracted  Illness  in  London— Removal  of 
Governor  Denny — Countermining  the  Proprietors— Historical  Review, 
etc.,  of  Pennsylvania— Tour  through  England  and  Scotland— Cam- 
bridge University— Visits  the  Home  of  his  Ancestors — Counsels  the 
Annexation  of  Canada  to  the  British  Empire— Portrait  of  William 
Penn— The  "Art  of  Virtue" — Karnes's  "Elements  of  Criticism" — 
Directions  for  a  Young  Lady's  Reading— Expensiveness  of  English 
Wives— Hume's  "Jealousy  of  Commerce"  —  Baskerville's  Printing 
Types— Property  of  the  Penn  Family — Death  of  his  Mother-in-law — 
Lightning  Conductors. 

1744-1762. 

To  William  Sir, — I  received  your  favor  per  Mr.  Chew, 
dated  Febru-  dated  Sept.  io,  and  a  copy  via  Boston.  I 
ary  12, 1744.  received  also  Mr.  Middleton's  pieces.  I  am 
pleased  to  hear  that  my  old  acquaintance,  Mr.  Wiggate,  is 
promoted,  and  hope  the  discovery  will  be  completed.  I 
would  not  have  you  be  too  nice  in  the  choice  of  pamphlets 
you  send  me  Let  me  have  everything,  good  or  bad,  that 
makes  a  noise  and  has  a  run ;  for  I  have  friends  here  of 
different  tastes  to  oblige  with  the  sight  of  them.  If  Mr. 
Warburton  publishes  a  new  edition  of  Pope's  Works,  please 

375 


375  ^ 


POPE'S  WORKS—  THOMSON" S  "SEASONS.' 


to  send  me  as  soon  as  it  is  out  6  setts.  That  poet  has  many 
admirers  here,  and  the  reflection  he  somewhere  casts  on  the 
plantations,  as  if  they  had  a  relish  for  such  writers  as  Ward 
only,  is  injurious.  Your  authors  know  but  little  of  the 
fame  they  have  on  this  side  of  the  ocean.  We  are  a  kind 
of  posterity  in  respect  to  them.  We  read  their  works  with 
perfect  impartiality,  being  at  too  great  a  distance  to  be 
byassed  by  the  fashions,  parties,  and  prejudices  that  pre- 
vail among  you.  We  know  nothing  of  their  personal  fail- 
ings ;  the  blemishes  in  their  character  never  reach  us,  and 
therefore  the  bright  and  amiable  part  strikes  us  with  its 
full  force.  They  have  never  offended  us  or  any  of  our 
friends,  and  we  have  no  competitions  with  them,  therefore 
we  praise  and  admire  them  without  restraint.*  Whatever 
Thomson  writes  send  me  a  dozen  copies  of.  I  had  read 
no  poetry  for  several  years,  and  almost  lost  the  relish  of  it 
till  I  met  with  his  "Seasons."  That  charming  poet  has 
brought  more  tears  of  pleasure  into  my  eyes  than  all  I  ever 
read  before.  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  return  him 
any  part  of  the  joy  he  has  given  me.  I  purpose  to  send 
you  by  a  ship  that  is  to  sail  shortly  from  this  port  a  bill 
and  an  invoice  of  books  that  I  shall  want  for  sale  in  my 


*  I  once  asked  Bryant  the  poet  if  he  had  seen  the  new  edition  of 
Pope's  Works  by  Elwin,  remarking  that  the  editor  had  left  the  poet  with 
scarcely  a  single  estimable  quality,  literary  or  moral.  He  replied  that  he 
had  not  and  did  not  care  to ;  that  he  would  not  accept  such  a  judgment, 
however  ingeniously  defended;  quoting  Young's  lines,  "Sweet  as  his 
own  Homer;  his  life  melodious  as  his  verse."  "  That,"  said  he,  "  is  the 
judgment  of  a  contemporary."  He  was  unwilling  to  have  his  idea  of 
one  of  his  favorite  poets  disturbed.  "  I  want  no  better  edition  of  Pope," 
he  added,  "than  Warburton's,  which  I  read  in  my  father's  library,"  at 
the  same  time  taking  down  the  well-worn  copy  from  its  shelf  and  throwing 
it  to  me. — Ed. 


JEt.  42.]  DISCIPLINES  JAMES  READ.  375  £ 

shop,  which  I  doubt  not  you  will  procure  as  cheap  as  pos- 
sible, otherwise  I  shall  not  be  able  to  sell  them,  as  here  is 
one  who  is  furnished  by  Oswald  that  sells  excessively  low; 
I  cannot  conceive  upon  what  terms  they  deal.  The  pam- 
phlets and  newspapers  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  by  way  of 
N.  York  and  Boston  when  there  is  no  ship  directly  hither. 
If  you  direct  them  for  B.  F.,  Postm.  Philada.,  they  will 
come  readily  to  hand  from  those  places.  Mr.  Hall  is  per- 
fectly well  and  gains  ground  daily  in  the  esteem  of  all  that 
know  him.  I  hope  Caslon  will  not  delay  casting  the 
English  fount  I  wrote  to  )Ou  for,  so  long  as  he  has  some 
that  have  been  sent  me.  I  have  no  doubt  but  Mr.  Hall 
will  succeed  well  in  what  he  undei  takes.  He  is  obliging, 
discreet,  industrious,  and  honest ;  and  where  those  quali- 
ties meet,  things  seldom  go  amiss  Nothing  in  my  power 
shall  be  wanting  to  serve  him.  I  cannot  return  your  com- 
pliments in  kind,  this  Quaker  plain  country  producing 
none.  All  I  can  do  is  to  demonstrate,  by  a  hearty  readi- 
ness in  serving  yon  when  I  have  an  opportunity,  or  any 
friend  you  recommend,  that  I  do  truly  esteem  and  love 
you,  being,  sir,  your  obliged  humble  servant. 

Dear  Sir, — 'Tis  some  time  since  I  received 

To  J.   Read,*  . 

dated  Dec-m-  a  considerable  account  against  you  from  Eng- 
bers,  1748.  land.  An  unwillingness  to  give  you  concern 
has  hitherto  prevented  me  mentioning  it  to  you.  By  com- 
paring the  moderation  and  long  forbearance  toward  you 
of  Mr.  Strahan,  to  whom  you  owe  so  much,  with  your 
treatment  of  an  old  friend  in  distress,  bred  up  with  you 


*  A  dealer  in  books  in  Philadelphia,  who  retired  from  business  a  few 
years  after  this  correspondence. 


375  C  DISCIPLINES  JAMES  READ.  [/Et.  42. 

under  the  same  roof,  and  who  owes  you  so  little,  you  may 
perceive  how  much  you  have  misunderstood  yourself.  'Tis 
with  regret  I  now  acquaint  you  that  (even  while  you  were 
talking  to  me  in  that  lofty  strain  yesterday  concerning 
Mr.  Grace)  I  had  in  my  pocket  the  power  of  attorney  to 
recover  of  you  ^131  16s.  4*/.  sterling,  a  balance  long 
due.  It  will  be  your  own  fault  if  it  comes  to  be  known, 
for  I  have  mentioned  it  to  nobody.  And  I  now  ask  you 
how  you  would  in  your  own  case  like  those  pretty  pieces 
of  practice  you  so  highly  contended  for, — of  summoning 
a  day  only  before  the  court,  lest  the  cause  should  be  made 
up,  and  fees  thereby  prevented ;  and  of  carrying  on  a  suit 
privately  against  a  man  in  another  country  than  that  in 
which  he  lives  and  may  every  day  be  found,  getting  a 
judgment  by  default,  and  taking  him  by  surprise  with  an 
execution  when  he  happens  to  come  where  you  have  sued 
him,  etc.,  etc.  I  should  be  glad  to  have  that  account 
against  my  friend  Grace,  with  all  the  little  charges  you 
have  so  cunningly  accumulated  on  it,  that  I  may  commu- 
nicate it  to  him ;  and  doubt  not  but  he  will  immediately 
order  you  payment.  It  appears  not  unlikely  to  me  that 
he  may  soon  get  through  all  his  difficulties,  and  as  I  know 
him  good-natured  and  benevolent  to  a  high  degree,  so  I 
believe  he  will  be  above  resenting  the  ill-lreatment  he  has 
received  from  some  that  are  now  so  fond  of  insulting  him, 
and  from  whom  he  might  have  expected  better  things. 
But  I  think  you  would  do  well  not  to  treat  others  in  the 
same  manner,  for  fortune's  wheel  is  often  turning,  and  all 
are  not  alike  forgiving.  I  request,  as  soon  as  it  suits  your 
convenience,  that  you  will  take  the  proper  measures  with 
regard  to  Mr.  Strahan's  account,  and  I  am  your  humble 
servant. 


^T.  43.]  DISCIPLINES  JAMES  READ.  375^ 

„..„.  Sir, — In  a  former  letter  I  promised  to  write 

To      William  r 

strahan,  da-    you  largely  about  your  affairs  with  Mr.  Read, 

ted    Philadel-  ,    -  .    . 

phia  April  29  anc*  tne  measures  taken  to  recover  your  money. 
1749.  Before  I  received  your  power  of  attorney  and 

account  there  was  a  misunderstanding  between  us,  occa- 
sioned by  his  endeavoring  to  get  a  small  office  from  me 
(clerk  to  the  Assembly),  which  I  took  the  more  amiss  as 
we  had  always  been  good  friends,  and  the  office  could  not 
have  been  of  much  service  to  him,  the  salary  being  small, 
but  valuable  to  me  as  a  means  of  securing  the  public  busi- 
ness to  our  printing  house.  So,  as  we  were  not  on  speak- 
ing terms  when  your  account  came  to  hand,  and  the  in- 
fluence I  had  over  him  as  a  friend  was  become  little  or 
nothing,  it  was  some  time  before  I  mentioned  it  to  him. 
But  at  length  the  ice  was  broke  in  the  following  manner : 
I  have  a  friend  in  the  country  that  assisted  me  when  I  first 
set  up,  whose  affairs  have  lately  been  in  some  disorder 
(occasioned  greatly  by  his  too  great  good  nature),  his 
creditors  coming  at  the  same  time  in  a  crowd  upon  him. 
I  had  made  up  with  several  of  them  for  him,  but  Mr. 
Read,  being  employed  in  one  small  case  (a  debt  of  ^12 
only),  carried  on  (by  some  contrivance  in  the  law  which  I 
don't  understand)  a  private  action  against  him,  by  sum- 
moning him  in  this  country  when  he  lives  in  another,  and 
obtained  a  judgment  against  him  without  his  or  my  know- 
ing anything  of  the  matter;  and  then  came  to  me,  know- 
ing I  had  a  great  affection  for  Mr.  Grace,  and  in  a  very 
insulting  manner  asked,  "  What  shall  I  do  with  your  friend 
Grace  ?  I  have  got  judgment  against  him,  and  must  take 
out  execution  if  the  debt  is  not  immediately  satisfied," 
etc.  Upon  enquiring  into  the  matter  and  understanding 
how  it  had  been  carried  on,  I  grew  a  little  warm,  blamed 


375  e  DISCIPLINES  JAMES  READ.  [^Et.  43. 

his  practice  as  irregular  and  unfair,  and  his  conduct  toward 
Mr.  Grace,  to  whom  his  father  and  family  had  been  much 
obliged,  as  ungrateful ;  and  said  that  since  he  looked  on 
me  as  Mr.  Grace's  friend,  he  should  have  told  me  of  the 
action  before  he  commenced  it ;  that  I  might  have  pre- 
vented it  and  saved  the  charges  arising  on  it,  and  his  not 
doing  so  could  be  only  from  a  view  of  the  small  fees  it 
produced  him  in  carrying  it  through  all  the  courts,  etc. 
He  justified  his  practice,  and  said  it  was  legal  and  frequent ; 
denied  that  his  father  or  family  were  under  any  obligation 
to  Mr.  Grace ;  alleged  that  Grace  had  used  him  ill  in  em- 
ploying another  lawyer  in  some  of  his  own  actions,  when 
at  the  same  time  he  owed  him  near  ^5  ;  and  added, 
haughtily,  that  he  was  determined  to  sue  Grace  on  his 
account  if  not  speedily  paid ;  and,  so  saying,  left  me  very 
abruptly.  I  thought  this  a  good  opportunity  of  intro- 
ducing your  affair,  imagining  that  a  consciousness  of  his 
ill  behavior  to  me  and  my  friend  would  pique  him  to  make 
immediate  payment.  Accordingly,  I  wrote  him  a  letter  the 
next  day,  of  which  I  send  you  the  rough  draft  enclosed, 
together  with  his  answer,  since  which  several  other  letters 
passed  on  the  same  subject  of  which  I  have  no  copies. 
All  I  insisted  on,  since  he  declared  his  inability  to  pay  at 
present,  was  that  he  should  give  you  his  bond,  so  that,  in 
case  of  his  death,  you  might  come  in  for  payment  prior  to 
common  creditors,  and  that  he  should  allow  you  interest 
from  the  time  the  money  became  due  in  the  common 
course  of  payments.  He  agreed  to  give  his  bond,  but  it 
has  been  delayed  from  time  to  time  till  this  day,  when,  on 
my  writing  to  him  again  to  know  what  account  I  should 
send  you,  I  received  from  him  the  enclosed  billet,  in  which 
he  refuses  to  allow  interest  for  the  time  past.     As  he  canno* 


Mt.  44.]  DISCIPLINES  JAMES  READ.  375/ 

be  compelled  to  pay  interest  on  a  book  account,  I  desired 
him  then  to  fill  up  and  execute  a  bond  to  you  for  the  prin- 
cipal, and  he  might  settle  the  affair  of  the  interest  with 
you  hereafter.  Accordingly,  he  has  just  now  done  it,  so 
that  interest  will  arise  for  the  time  to  come ;  but,  as  he 
threatens  to  pay  very  speedily,  and  I  am  persuaded  may 
easily  do  it  by  the  help  of  his  relations,  who  are  wealthy, 
I  hope  you  will  not  have  much  interest  to  receive.  He 
has  a  great  many  good  qualities  for  which  I  love  him,  but 
I  believe  he  is,  as  you  say,  sometimes  a  little  crazy.  If 
the  debt  were  to  me  I  could  not  sue  him •  so,  I  believe, 
you  will  not  desire  me  to  do  it  for  you ;  but  he  shall  not 
want  pressing  (though  I  scarce  ever  dun  for  myself)  be- 
cause I  think  his  relations  may  and  will  help  him  if 
properly  applied  to ;  and  Mr.  Hall  thinks  with  me  that 
urging  him  frequently  may  make  him  more  considerate, 
and  induce  him  to  abridge  some  of  his  unnecessary  ex- 
penses. The  bond  is  made  payable  in  a  month  from  the 
day,  and,  for  your  encouragement,  I  may  add  that  not- 
withstanding what  he  affects  to  say  of  the  badness  of  his 
circumstances,  I  look  on  the  debt  to  be  far  from  desperate. 
Please  to  send  me  Chambers'  Dictionary,  the  best  edition, 
and  charge  it  in  Mr.  Hall's  invoice.  My  compliments  to 
good  Mrs.  Strahan,  my  dame  writes  to  her.  I  am,  with 
great  esteem  and  affection,  dear  sir,  your  most  obliged 
friend  and  humble  servant. 


To    William  Dear  Sir, — I  wrote  you  per  Capt.  Budden, 

stiahan,    da-  who  sailed  the  beginning  of  December,  and 

ted    Philadel-  ,  .,,         .             ,                            T 

phia,  Feb.  4,  sent    vou   a    Dill   of    exchange   on   Jonathan 

-75°.  Gurnel  &  Co  ,  for  ^50,  and  desired  you  to  send 
on  one  Viner's  Bacon  and  Danver's  Abridgments  of  the 

33  k 


375^"  WILLIAM  STUDIES  LAW.  [^T.  44. 

Law,  with  Wood's  and  Coke's  Institutes.  I  have  no  copy 
of  the  letter,  and  forget  whether  I  added  the  Complete 
Attorney,  in  six  or  eight  volumes,  8vo,  the  precedents  in 
English,  please  to  send  that  also.  I  likewise  desired  you 
to  enter  my  son's  name,  William  Franklin,  in  one  of  the 
Inns  of  Court  as  a  student  of  law,  which,  I  am  told,  costs 
between  ^5  and  £6,  and  to  let  me  know  what  time  must 
expire  before  he  can  be  called  to  the  bar  after  such  entry, 
because  he  intends  to  go  to  London  a  year  or  two  before 
to  finish  his  studies.  I  hope  that  letter  got  to  hand.  I 
see  they  have  printed  a  new  translation  of  Tully  on  Old 
Age ;  please  to  send  me  one  of  them.  Mr.  Hall  continues 
well,  and  goes  on  perfectly  to  my  satisfaction.  My  respects 
to  Mrs.  Strahan  and  Master  Billy.  I  have  not  time  to  add 
but  that  I  am,  with  great  esteem  and  affection,  dear  sir, 
your  most  obliged  humble  servant. 

To  wiiiiam  Dear  Sir, — The  person  from  whom  you 
strahan,    da-    had  the  power  of  attorney  to  receive  a  legacy 

ted    Philadel-  ,  .      __    ..  '  .  _  „       '      , 

phia,  June  a,  was  h°rn  m  Holland,  and  at  first  called  Aletta 
I75°-  Crell ;    but   not   being  christened   when   the 

lamily  came  to  live  among  the  English  in  America,  she  was 
baptized  by  the  name  of  Mary.  This  change  of  name 
probably  might  be  unknown  to  the  testator,  as  it  happened 
in  Carolina,  and  so  the  legacy  might  be  left  her  by  her  first 
name,  Aletta.  She  has  wrote  it  on  a  piece  of  paper,  which  I 
enclose,  and  desires  you  would  take  the  trouble  of  acquaint- 
ing the  gentleman  with  these  particulars,  which,  she  thinks, 
may  induce-  him  to  pay  the  money.  I  am  glad  to  under- 
stand by  the  papers  that  the  Parliament  has  provided  for 
paying  off  the  debts  due  on  the  Canada  expedition.  I 
suppose  my  son's  pay  is  now  in  your  hands.     I  am  willing 


Mr.  44.]  FOLL  Y  OF  D  YING  RICH.  375  Jt 

to  allow  6  per  cent,  (the  rate  of  interest  here)  for  the 
delay,  or  more,  if  the  disappointment  has  been  a  greater 
loss  to  you.  I  hope  the  ^50  bill  I  lately  sent  you  is  come 
to  hand  and  paid.  The  description  you  give  of  the  com- 
pany and  manner  of  living  in  Scotland  would  almost 
tempt  one  to  remove  thither.  Your  sentiments  of  the 
general  foible  of  mankind  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth  to  no 
end  are  expressed  in  a  manner  that  gave  me  great  pleasure 
in  reading.  They  are  extremely  just ;  at  least  they  are 
perfectly  agreeable  to  mine.  But  London  citizens,  they 
say,  are  ambitious  of  what  they  call  dying  worth  a  great 
sum.  The  very  notion  seems  to  me  absurd  ;  and  just  the 
same  as  if  a  man  should  run  in  debt  for  1000  super- 
fluities, to  the  end  that  when  he  should  be  stripped  of 
all,  and  imprisoned  by  his  creditors,  it  might  be  said, 
he  broke  worth  a  great  sum.  I  imagine  that  what  we  have 
above  what  we  can  use  is  not  properly  ours,  though  we 
possess  it ;  and  that  the  rich  man,  who  must  die,  was  no 
more  worth  what  he  leaves  than  the  debtor  who  must  pay. 
I  am  glad  to  hear  so  good  a  character  of  my  son-in-law. 
Please  to  acquaint  him  that  his  spouse  grows  finely  and 
will  probably  have  an  agreeable  person.  That  with  the 
best  natural  disposition  in  the  world,  she  discovers  daily 
the  seeds  and  tokens  of  industry,  economy,  and,  in  short, 
of  every  female  virtue  which  her  parents  will  endeavor  to 
cultivate  for  him  ;  and  if  the  success  answer  their  fond 
wishes  and  expectations,  she  will,  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word,  be  worth  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  consequently  a 
great  fortune.  I  suppose  my  wife  writes  to  Mrs.  Strahan. 
Our  friend,  Mr.  Hall,  is  well,  and  manages  perfectly  to  my 
satisfaction.  I  cannot  tell  how  to  accept  your  repeated 
thanks  for  services  you  think  I  have  done  to  him,  when  I 


375  z  MRS.  FRANKLIN'S   ORTHOGRAPHY.     [>Et.  45. 

continually  feel  myself  obliged  to  him  and  to  you  for 
sending  him.  I  sincerely  wish  all  happiness  to  you  and 
yours,  and  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obliged  humble  ser- 
vant, B.  Franklin. 

**     ™  u     u        Madam, — I  am  ordered  by  my  Master  to 

Mrs.  Deborah  '  *         ' 

Franklin  to  write  for  him  Books  for  Sally  Franklin.  I 
han/^ated  am  m  Hopes  Shee  will  be  abel  to  write  for 
Dec.  24, 1751.      herselfe  by  the  Spring. 

8  Sets  of  the  Perceptor  best  Edit. 

8  Doz.  of  Croxall's  Fables. 

3  Doz.  of  B.  Kenns  Manual  for  Winchester  School. 

1  Doz.  Familiar  Forms,  Latin  and  Eng. 
Ainsworth's  Dictionaries,  4  best  Edit. 

2  Doz.  Select  Tales  and  Fables. 

2  Doz.  Costalio's  Test. 

Cole's  Dictionarys  Latin  and  Eng.  6  a  half  Doz. 

3  Doz.  of  Clarke's  Cordery  1  Boyle's  Pliny  2  Vols.  8vo. 
6  Sets  of  Nature  displayed  in  7  vols.  i2mo. 

One  good  Quorto  Bibel  with  Cudes  bound  in  Calfe. 

1  Peurilia.  1  Art  of  making  Common  Salt.  By 
Browning. 

My  Dafter  gives  her  duty  to  Mr.  Stroyhan  and  his  Lady, 
and  her  compliments  to  Master  Billy  and  all  his  brothers 
and  Sisters.  My  Son  is  gon  to  Boston  on  a  visit  to  his 
Friends.  I  suppose  Mr.  Franklin  will  write  himself.  Mr. 
and  Mis  Hall  are  very  well ;  thay  have  lost  thair  other 
Child.  She  lays  in  this  Winter.  My  complyments  to  Mrs. 
Strahan,  and  all  your  dear  little  Family.  I  am,  dear 
Madam, 

Your  humbel  Servant, 

Deborah  Franklin. 


JEt.  47.]  SETTLES  A   NEPHEW.  *j$J 

To  William  Dear  Sir, — *  *  *  I  have  settled  a  nephew* 
strahan,    da-    of  mine   in   Antigua,   in  the  place  of  Mr. 

ted    i-'hiladel-      _,      .  .         .  -         T        ,        .  .  , 

phia,  May  9,  Smith,  deceased.  I  take  him  to  be  a  very 
1753-  honest,  industrious  lad,  and  hope  he  will  do 

well  there,  and  in  time  be  of  some  use  to  you  as  a  corre- 
spondent. Please  to  send  him  a  little  cargo  of  books  and 
stationery  agreeable  to  the  invoice  below.  I  will  send  you 
a  bill  on  this  account  perhaps  per  next  ship. 

*  *  *  The  sum  was  -£25  to  which  I  limited 

To      William  ■*■»    D 

strahan,  da-  the  books,  etc.,  to  be  sent  to  my  nephew, 
Phia Poctdll'  BenJamin  Mecom.  But  if  you  have  sent  to 
1753.  the  amount  of  ^30,  it  is  not  amiss.     I  am 

now  about  to  establish  a  small  printing  office  in  favor  of 
another  nephew,  at  New  Haven,  in  the  Colony  of  Connec- 
ticut, in  New  England ;  a  considerable  town,  in  which 
there  is  a  university,  and  a  prospect  that  a  bookseller's 
shop,  with  a  printing-house,  may  do  pretty  well.  I  would 
therefore  request  you  to  bespeak  for  me  of  Mr.  Caslon,  viz. : 

300  lbs.  long  primer,  with  figures  and  signs  sufficient  for 
an  almanac. 

300  lbs.  pica. 

100  lbs.  great  primer. 

300  lbs.  English. 

60    lbs.  double  pica.  Roman 

50    lbs.  two  line  English.  and 

40    lbs.  two  line  great  primer.  Italic. 

30    lbs.  two  line  capitals  and  flowers  of  different  fonts. 

20    lbs.  quotations. 

As  Mr.  Caslon  has  different  long  primers,  picas,  etc.,  I 


*  Benjamin,  the  son  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Mecom. 
33* 


375 /£  PRINTING  EQUIPMENT.  [,Et.  47. 

beg  the  favor  of  your  judgment  to  choose  and  order  the 
best. 

To  which  add: 

A  complete  good  new  press. 

2  pair  blankets. 

2  pair  ballstocks. 

Some  reglets,  gutter-sticks,  side-sticks,  quoins,  etc. 

3  pair  chases,  of  different  sizes ;  the  biggest,  demi. 
2  folio  galleys,  each  with  four  shies. 

4  quarto  galleys. 

A  few  facs,   head  and   tail  pieces;    three  or  four  of 
each. 

2  doz.  brass  rules. 

2  good  composing  sticks. 

2  kegs  of  ink ;  one  weak,  the  other  strong. 

With  such  another  small  cargo  of  books  and  stationery 
as  I  desired  you  to  send  to  Antigua  for  a  beginning. 

*  *  *  Insure  the  whole. 

The  furniture  may  be  packed  in  the  large  case  that  con- 
tains the  press.  If  you  can  persuade  your  press-maker  to 
go  out  of  his  old  road  a  little,  I  would  have  the  ribs  made 
not  with  the  face  rounding  outwards,  as  usual,  but  a  little 
hollow  or  rounding  inwards  from  end  to  end ;  and  the 
cramps  made  of  hard  cast  brass,  fixed  not  across  the  ribs 
but  longways,  so  as  to  slide  in  the  hollow  face  of  the 
ribs.  The  reason  is,  that  brass  and  iron  work  better  to- 
gether than  iron  and  iron.  Such  a  press  never  gravels  ; 
the  hollow  face  of  the  ribs  keeps  the  oil  better,  and  the 
cramps,  bearing  on  a  larger  surface,  do  not  wear,  as  in  the 
common  method. 

Of  this  I  have  had  many  years'  experience.  I  need  not 
desire  you  to  agree  with  the  workmen  on  the  most  reason- 


Mr.  48.]  THE  NEPHEW  IN  ANTIGUA.  375  / 

able  terms  you  can  ;  and  as  this  affair  will  give  you  trouble, 
pray  charge  commission.  I  shall  not  think  myself  a  whit 
the  less  obliged. 

to  wiiiiam  Dear  Sir,—  *  *  *  I  am  glad  you  have 
strahan,    da-    sent  again  the  things  that  were  shipped  on  the 

ted    Philadel-      _,_         . 

phia,  April  18,  Davis.  As  to  that  loss,  give  yourself  no  con- 
I754*  cern  about  it.    It  is  mine,  and  but  a  trifle.    I  do 

not  know  or  regard  what  the  custom  of  merchants  may  be 
in  such  cases ;  but  when  I  reflect  how  much  trouble  I  have 
given  you  from  time  to  time  in  my  little  affairs,  that  you 
never  charged  me  commissions,  and  have  frequently  been 
in  advance  for  me,  were  the  loss  much  greater,  be  sure  I 
should  not  suffer  it  to  fall  on  you.  Benjamin  Mecom 
writes  me  that  he  has  remitted  you  ^30  sterling,  which  I 
am  pleased  to  hear.  And  am  glad  you  have  not  sent  him 
the  great  parcel  of  books  which  you  mention  he  has  wrote 
for.  He  is  a  young  lad,  quite  unacquainted  with  the  world, 
and,  I  fear,  would  be  much  embarrassed  if  he  went  sud- 
denly into  dealings  too  deep  for  his  stock.  The  people 
of  those  islands  might  buy  his  books ;  but  I  know  they 
are  very  dull  pay,  and  he  would  find  it  impracticable  to 
collect  the  money  when  it  ought  to  be  sent  to  you.  Pray 
keep  him  within  bounds;  let  him  have  good  salable  sort- 
ments,  but  small,  and  do  not  suffer  him  to  be  more  than 
^50  in  your  debt,  if  so  much  ;  it  is  best  for  him  to  proceed 
gradually;  and  to  deal  more  as  his  stock  and  experience 
increases.  I  am  thankful  to  you  for  prudently  delaying  to 
send  what  he  indiscreetly  wrote  for,  till  you  had  advised 
me  of  it.  Our  compliments  to  Mrs.  Strahan  and  your 
children.  I  am,  with  great  esteem,  dear  sir,  your  most 
humble  servant. 


375  m  AGENT  OF  GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE.  [JEt.  49. 

To  William  Dear  Sir, —  *  *  *  I  do  not  at  all  approve 
strahan,  da-  0f  B.  Mecom's  being  so  much  in  your  debt, 
phia,  Nov.  27,  an^  sna^  write  to  him  about  it.  The  people  of 
x755-  those  islands  expect  a  great  deal  of  credit,  and 

when  the  books  are  out  of  his  hands,  if  he  should  die,  half 
would  not  be  collected.  This  I  have  learned  by  experience 
in  the  case  of  poor  Smith,  whom  I  first  settled  there.  I  am 
glad,  therefore,  that  you  declined  sending  him  the  other 
things  he  wrote  for.  Pray  write  to  him  for  the  pay  and  make 
him  keep  touch ;  that  will  oblige  him  to  dun  quick  and 
get  in  his  debts ;  otherwise,  he  may  hurt  himself,  and  you 
in  the  end.  Remember  I  give  you  this  caution  and  that 
you  venture  on  your  own  risk.  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  of 
any  service  to  you  in  the  affair  you  mention  relating  to  the 
Gentleman' s  Magazine,  and  our  daughter  (who  already 
trades  a  little  in  London)  is  willing  to  undertake  the  dis- 
tributing of  them  per  post  from  this  place,  hoping  it  may 
produce  some  profit  to  herself.  I  will  immediately  cause 
advertisements  to  be  printed  in  the  papers  here,  at  New 
York,  New  Haven,  and  Boston,  recommending  that  maga- 
zine and  proposing  to  supply  all  who  will  subscribe  for  them 
at  135-.,  this  currency,  a  year,  the  subscribers  paying  down 
the  money  for  one  year  beforehand ;  for  otherwise  there 
will  be  a  considerable  loss  by  bad  debts.  As  soon  as  I 
find  out  what  the  subscription  will  produce,  I  shall  know 
what  number  to  send  for.  Most  of  those  for  New  England 
must  be  sent  to  Boston.  Those  for  New  York,  Connecti- 
cut, Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  must  be  sent  to  New  York 
or  Philadelphia,  as  opportunities  offer  to  one  place  or  the 
other.  As  to  Virginia,  I  believe  it  will  scarce  be  worth 
while  to  propose  it  there,  the  gentlemen  being  generally 
furnished  with  them  by  their  correspondents  in  London. 


Mr.  50.]        THE  NEPHEW  QUITS  ANTIGUA.  375  n 

Those  who  incline  to  continue,  must  pay  for  the  second 
year  three  months  before  the  first  expires,  and  so  on  from 
time  to  time.  The  postmaster  in  those  places  to  take  in 
the  subscription  money  and  distribute  the  magazines,  etc. 
These  are  my  first  thoughts.  I  shall  write  further.  That 
magazine  has  always  been,  in  my  opinion,  by  far  the  best. 
I  think  it  never  wants  matter,  both  entertaining  and  in- 
structive, or  I  might  now  and  then  furnish  you  with  some 
little  pieces  from  this  part  of  the  world. 

To  wniiam  Dear  Sir, — Being  here,  I  take  this  oppor- 
tcdNewVork"  tunity  of  the  pacquet  boat  to  write  you  a  line, 
July  a,  1756.  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of 
March  13th,  and  of  the  brevier  fount,  which  is  come  to 
hand  in  good  order,  and  pleases  Mr.  Hall  and  me  very 
much.  I  am  much  indebted  to  you  for  your  care  in  the 
matter,  as  well  as  many  others.  I  think  our  account  now 
stands  thus : 


Dr.          B.  Franklin  to  W.  Strahan. 

Cr. 

I7SS- 

£  s.  d. 

£  s.  d. 

Oct.  3.    To  bal.  of  acct. 

Mar.  13.     By  bill  on 

to  this  day 

59    4  1$            Dr.  Chandler 

109    8  4 

Bal.  due  W.  S. 

11  10  9^ 

I7S6. 

March  13.    To  bill  paid 

Mr.  Voogdt 

2  17  6 

To  fount  of  brevier 

58  17  6 

120  19  i£  120  19  1} 

My  nephew,  B.  Mecom,  finding  that  the  business  did  not 
answer  to  his  mind  in  Antigua,  has  determined  to  quit  the 
place,  and  has  accordingly  sent  home  to  me  the  press  and 
letters.     He  writes  me  that  he  has  lately  sent  you  a  bill 

R* 


375  0  BUSY  LIFE.  [JEt.  50 

for  ;£ioo  sterling,  and  being  now  employed  only  in  col- 
lecting his  debts,  he  hopes  soon  to  send  you  a  bill  for  the 
balance  of  your  account,  about  ^50  more.  As  the  ^20 
bill  you  received  of  me  in  November,  1753,  was  only  lent 
to  his  account,  and  he  will  now  pay  his  whole  balance 
without  reckoning  that  ^20,  you  will  please  to  take  it 
back  to  my  account  when  he  has  settled  and  paid  off  his ; 
whereby  a  balance  will  remain  in  my  favor.  But,  in  the 
mean  time,  lest  that  should  not  be  so  soon  done  as  he  pro- 
poses, that  you  may  not  be  longer  in  advance  for  me,  I 
enclose  a  little  bill  on  Mr.  Collinson,  for  £\\  io.r.  <)%d., 
the  balance  due  you,  but  desire  you  would  not  forget  to 
take  back  the  ^20  into  your  hands  for  me,  when  you  settle 
finally  with  B.  Mecom,  who  writes  me  that  he  proposes 
sailing  for  England  this  present  July.  You  judge  rightly 
that  my  many  employments  and  journeys  of  late  have 
prevented  my  carrying  into  execution  the  proposed  scheme 
of  circulating  your  magazine.  But  I  think  now  to  write 
to  the  postmaster  as  soon  as  I  get  home,  and  order  the  ad- 
vertisements into  the  papers.  With  the  greatest  respect  and 
esteem,  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  obliged  and  most  obedient 
servant. 


To       George  Sir, —  *  nave  your  favors  of  July  23d  and 

Washington,*  August  3d,  but  that  you  mention  to  have 

Philadelphia, 

August       19,  wrote  by  Mr.  Balfour  is  not  come  to  hand. 

I756-  I  forwarded  the  packet  enclosed  in  that  of 


*  At  this  time  commander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia  forces  raised  tc 
protect  the  frontiers  from  the  Indians  and  French.  His  headquarters 
were  at  Winchester.  Franklin,  in  his  capacity  of  postmaster-general 
for  the  colonies,  had,  the  year  previous,  during  Braddock's  march, 
arranged  a  post  between  Philadelphia  and  Winchester,  in  consequence 
of  a  vote  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly. 


/Et.  51.]  ILLNESS  IN  LONDON.  375^, 

July  23d,  as  directed,  and  shall  readily  take  care  of  any 
other  letters  from  you  that  pass  through  my  hands.  The 
post,  between  this  place  and  Winchester,  was  established 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  army  chiefly,  by  a  vote  of 
our  Assembly.  They  are  not  willing  to  continue  the  charge, 
and  it  must,  I  believe,  be  dropped,  unless  your  Assembly 
and  that  of  Maryland  will  contribute  to  support  it,  which, 
perhaps,  is  scarce  to  be  expected. 

I  am  sorry  it  should  be  laid  down,  as  I  shall  myself  be  a 
loser  in  the  affair  of  newspapers.  But  the  letters  per  post 
by  no  means  defray  the  expense.  If  you  can  prevail  with 
your  Assembly  to  pay  the  rider  from  Winchester  to  Car- 
lisle, I  will  endeavor  to  persuade  ours  to  continue  paying 
the  rider  from  Carlisle  hither.  My  agreement  with  the 
house  was  to  carry  all  public  despatches  gratis,  to  keep 
account  of  postage  received  for  private  letters,  and  charge 
the  expense  of  riders  and  offices ;  and  they  were  to  pay  the 
balance.     I  am,  Sir,  &c,  B.   Franklin. 

To  his  wife,  During  my  illness,  which  continued  near 
dated     Lon-    gjgjtf  weeks,  I  wrote  several  letters  as  I  was 

don,  22  Nov.,  P 

1757-  able.    The  last  was  by  the  packet  which  sailed 

from  Falmouth  above  a  week  since.  In  that  I  informed 
you  that  my  intermitting  fever,  which  had  continued  to 
harass  me  by  frequent  relapses,  was  gone  ofT,  and  I  have 
ever  since  been  gathering  strength  and  flesh.  My  doctor, 
Fothergill,  who  had  forbid  me  the  use  of  pen  and  ink, 
now  permits  me  to  write  as  much  as  I  can  without  ovei 
fatiguing  myself,  and  therefore  I  sit  down  to  write  more 
fully  than  I  have  hitherto  been  able  to  do. 

The  2d  of  September  I  wrote  to  you,  that  I  had  had  a 
violent  cold  and  something  of  a  fever,  but  that  it  was  almost 


376  ILLNESS  IN  LONDON  [Mt.  %\ 

gone.  However,  it  was  not  long  before  I  had  another  se- 
vere cold,  which  continued  longer  than  the  first,  attended 
by  great  pain  in  my  head,  the  top  of  which  was  very  hot, 
and  when  the  pain  went  off,  very  sore  and  tender.  These 
fits  of  pain  continued  sometimes  longer  than  at  others; 
seldom  less  than  twelve  hours,  and  once  thirty-six  hours. 
I  was  now  and  then  a  little  delirious ;  they  cupped  me  on 
the  back  of  the  head,  which  seemed  to  ease  me  for  the 
present  ;  1  took  a  great  deal  of  bark,  both  in  substance  and 
infusion,  and  too  soon  thinking  myself  well,  I  ventured  out 
twice,  to  do  a  little  business  and  forward  the  service  I  am 
engaged  in,  and  both  times  got  fresh  cold  and  fell  down 
again.  My  good  doctor  grew  very  angry  with  me  for  acting 
contrary  to  his  cautions  and  directions,  and  obliged  me  to 
promise  more  observance  for  the  future.  He  attended  me 
very  carefully  and  affectionately ;  and  the  good  lady  of  the 
house  nursed  me  kindly.*  Billy  was  also  of  great  service  to 
me,  in  going  from  place  to  place,  where  I  could  not  go 
myself,  and  Peter  was  very  diligent  and  attentive. f  I  took 
so  much  bark  in  various  ways,  that  I  began  to  abhor  it ;  I 
durst  not  take  a  vomit,  for  fear  of  my  head ;  but  at  last  I 


*  By  the  advice  of  some  of  his  Pennsylvania  friends  who  had  boarded  there, 
Franklin  took  up  his  residence  in  London  with  a  Mrs.  Margaret  Stevenson, 
in  Craven  street,  Strand,  where  he  lived  during  the  whole  of  his  subsequent 
residence  in  London.  Both  for  Mrs.  Stevenson  and  for  her  daughter  Mary, 
then  a  young  lady  of  eighteen  years,  he  formed  a  cordial  attachment,  which 
lasted  through  life.  Miss  Stevenson  was  a  girl  of  superior  sepse.  and  the 
interest  which  Franklin  took  during  the  earlier  years  of  their  acquaintance, 
in  perfecting  her  education  and  in  cultivating  her  friendship,  reveals  to  ua 
one  of  the  most  sunny  and  attractive  phases  of  his  character.  Miss  Steven- 
son spent  most  of  her  time  with  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Tickell,  in  the  country.  This 
led  to  a  correspondence  between  her  and  the  doctor,  which  was  faithfully 
sustained  on  both  sides  up  to  the  year  of  his  death. — Ed. 

t  The  Billy  here  referred  to  is  his  son  William. — Ed. 


<Et.  51.]  REPORTS   OF  HIS  ENEMIES  377 

was  seized  one  morning  with  a  vomiting  and  purging,  tht 
latter  of  which  continued  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  and 
I  believe  was  a  kind  of  crisis  to  the  distemper,  carrying  it 
clear  off;  for  ever  since  I  feel  quite  lightsome,  and  am  every 
day  gathering  strength ;  so  I  hope  my  seasoning  is  over,  and 
that  I  shall  enjoy  better  health  during  the  rest  of  my  stay 
in  England. 

Governor  Shirley's  affairs  are  still  in  an  uncertain  state ; 
he  is  endeavouring  to  obtain  an  inquiry  into  his  conduct, 
but  the  confusion  of  public  affairs  occasions  it  to  be  post- 
poned. He  and  I  visit  frequently.  I  make  no  doubt  but 
reports  will  be  spread  by  my  enemies  to  my  disadvantage, 
but  let  none  of  them  trouble  you.  If  I  find  I  can  do  my 
country  no  good,  I  will  take  care  at  least  not  to  do  it  any 
harm;  I  will  neither  seek  nor  expect  anything  for  myself; 
and,  though  I  may  perhaps  not  be  able  to  obtain  for  the 
people  what  they  wish  and  expect,  no  interest  shall  induce 
me  to  betray  the  trust  they  have  reposed  in  me ;  so  make 
yourself  quite  easy  with  regard  to  such  reports. 

I  should  have  read  Sally's  French  letter  with  more  plea- 
sure, but  that  I  thought  the  French  rather  too  good  to  be 
all  her  own  composing.  I  suppose  her  master  must  have 
corrected  it.  But  I  am  glad  she  is  improving  in  that  and 
her  music ;  I  send  her  a  French  Pamela. 

December  $d. — I  write  by  little  and  little  as  I  can  find 
time.  I  have  now  gone  through  all  your  agreeable  letters, 
which  give  me  fresh  pleasure  every  time  I  read  them.  Last 
night  I  received  another,  dated  October  16th,  which 
brings  me  the  good  news,  that  you  and  Sally  were  got  safe 
home  ;  your  last,  of  the  9th,  being  from  Elizabethtown. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Miss  Ray  is  well,  and  that  you 
correspond.  It  is  not  convenient  to  be  forward  in  giving 
34 


3^8  SOCIAL   PRIVILEGES  IN  LONDON.      [Mr.  51 

advice  in  such  cases.  She  has  prudence  enough  to  judge 
for  herself,  and  I  hope  she  will  judge  and  act  for  the 
best. 

I  hear  there  has  a  miniature  painter  gone  over  to  Phila- 
delphia, a  relation  to  John  Reynolds.  If  Sally's  picture  is 
not  done  to  your  mind  by  the  young  man,  and  the  other 
gentleman  is  a  good  hand  and  follows  the  business,  sup- 
pose you  get  Sally's  done  by  him,  and  send  it  to  me  with 
your  small  picture,  that  I  may  here  get  all  our  little  family 
drawn  in  one  conversation  piece.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of 
the  general  sickness;  I  hope  it  is  over  before  this  time; 
and  that  little  Franky  is  recovered. 

I  was  as  much  disappointed  in  my  intention  of  writing 
by  the  packet,  as  you  were  in  not  receiving  letters,  and  it 
has  since  given  me  a  great  deal  of  vexation.  I  wrote  to 
you  by  way  of  New  York,  the  day  after  my  arrival  in 
London,  which  I  do  not  find  you  have  received. 

I  do  not  use  to  be  a  backward  correspondent,  though 
my  sickness  has  brought  me  behindhand  with  my  friends 
in  that  respect.  Had  I  been  well,  I  intended  to  have 
gone  round  among  the  shops,  and  bought  some  pretty 
things  for  you  and  my  dear  good  Sally  (whose  little  hands 
you  say  eased  your  headache),  to  send  by  this  ship,  but  I 
must  now  defer  it  to  the  next,  having  only  got  a  crimson 
satin  cloak  for  you,  the  newest  fashion,  and  the  black  silk 
for  Sally ;  but  Billy  sends  her  a  scarlet  feather,  muff,  and 
tippet,  and  a  box  of  fashionable  linen  for  her  dress.  In  the 
box  is  a  thermometer  for  Mr.  Taylor,  and  one  for  Mr. 
Schlatter,  which  you  will  carefully  deliver  ;  as  also  a  watch 
for  Mr.  Schlatter.  I  shall  write  to  them.  The  black  silk 
was  sent  to  Mr.  Neates,  who  undertook  to  forward  it  in 
some  package  of  his. 


/Et.  51.]      SOCIAL   PRIVILEGES  IN  LONDON.  379 

It  is  now  twelve  days  since  I  began  to  write  this  letter, 
and  I  still  continue  well,  but  have  not  yet  quite  recovered 
my  strength,  flesh,  or  spirits.  I  every  day  drink  a  glass  of 
infusion  of  bark  in  wine,  by  way  of  prevention,  and  hope 
ray  fever  will  no  more  return.  On  fair  days,  which  are  but 
few,  I  venture  out  about  noon.  The  agreeable  conversation 
I  meet  with  among  men  of  learning,  and  the  notice  taken 
of  me  by  persons  of  distinction,  are  the  principal  things 
that  soothe  me  for  the  present  under  this  painful  absence 
from  my  family  and  friends.  Yet  those  would  not  keep  me 
here  another  week,  if  I  had  not  other  inducements ;  duty 
to  my  country,  and  hopes  of  being  able  to  do  it  service. 

Pray  remember  me  kindly  to  all  that  love  us,  and  to  all 
that  we  love.  It  is  endless  to  name  names.  I  am,  my 
dear  child,*  your  loving  husband. 

To  his  wife,  I  am  thankful  to  God  for  sparing  my  little 
don,  14  Jan.]  family  in  that  time  of  general  sickness,  and 
J758.  hope  to  find  them  all  well  at  my  return.     The 

New  York  paper  you  sent  me  was  the  latest  that  came,  and 
of  use  to  our  friend  Strahan.  He  has  offered  to  lay  me  a 
considerable  wager,  that  a  letter  f  he  has  wrote  to  you  will 
bring  you  immediately  over  hither;  but  I  tell  him  I  will 
not  pick  his  pocket ;  for  I  am  sure  there  is  no  inducement 
strong  enough  to  prevail  with  you  to  cross  the  seas.  I 
should  be  glad  if  I  could  tell  you  when  I  expected  to  be  at 
home,  but  that  is  still  in  the  dark ;  it  is  possible  I  may  not 


*  Franklin,  in  his  correspondence,  always  addresses  his  wife  as  "  my  dear 
child,"  or  as  "  dear  Debby." — Ed. 

f  A  letter  written  to  persuade  Mrs.  Franklin  to  join  her  husband  and  reside 
in  London.  Had  she  consented,  Franklin's  career  might  have  been  of  less 
interest  to  the  American  reader. — Ed. 


380  DOMESTIC  LIFE.  [JEt.  52, 

be  able  to  get  away  this  summer ;  but  I  hope,  if  I  stay 
another  winter,  it  will  be  more  agreeable  than  the  greatest 
part  of  the  time  I  have  hitherto  spent  in  England. 

To  his  wife,  I  begin  to  think  I  shall  hardly  be  able  to 
Uon!  21  Jin.,  return  before  this  time  twelve  months.  I  am 
x758.  for  doing  effectually  what  I  came  about ;  and 

I  find  it  requires  both  time  and  patience.  You  may  think, 
perhaps,  that  I  can  find  many  amusements  here  to  pass  the 
time  agreeably.  It  is  true,  the  regard  and  friendship  I 
meet  with  from  persons  of  worth,  and  the  conversation  of 
ingenious  men,  give  me  no  small  pleasure;  but,  at  this  time 
of  life,  domestic  comforts  afford  the  most  solid  satisfaction, 
and  my  uneasiness  at  being  absent  from  my  family,  and 
longing  desire  to  be  with  them,  make  me  often  sigh  in  the 
midst  of  cheerful  company. 

My  love  to  my  dear  Sally.  I  confide  in  you  the  care  of 
her  and  her  education.  I  promise  myself  the  pleasure  of 
finding  her  much  improved  at  my  return.  When  you  write 
to  Boston,  give  my  love  to  sister  Jenny,  as  I  have  not  often 
time  to  write  to  her.  If  you  please,  you  may  send  her  the 
enclosed  little  picture. 

ro  his  wife,  Your  kind  advice  about  getting  a  chariot,  1 
dorf  1  Feb"  na(*  ta^en  some  time  before;  for  I  found,  that, 
U58.  every  time  I  walked  out,  I  got  fresh  cold;  and 

the  hackney  coaches  at  this  end  of  the  town,  where  most 
people  keep  their  own,  are  the  worst  in  the  whole  city, 
miserable,  dirty,  broken,  shabby  things,  unfit  to  go  into 
when  dressed  clean,  and  such  as  one  would  be  ashamed  to 
get  out  of  at  any  gentleman's  door.  As  to  burning  wood, 
it  would  answer  no  end,  unless  one  would  furnish  all  one's 


Mt.  52.]  PRESENTS  FOR   HIS  FAMILY.  38 1 

neighbours  and  the  whole  city  with  the  same.  The  whole 
town  is  one  great  smoky  house,  and  every  street  a  chimney, 
the  air  full  of  floating  seacoal  soot,  and  you  never  get  a 
sweet  breath  of  what  is  pure,  without  riding  some  miles  for 
it  into  the  country. 

I  am  sorry  to  hear,  that  a  storm  has  damaged  a  house  of 
my  good  friend  Mr.  Bartram.*  Acquaint  him  that  I  have 
received  the  seeds,  and  shall  write  to  him  shortly.  I  hope 
the  Speaker  is  recovered  of  the  illness  you  mention. 

Give  my  thanks  to  Dr.  Bond  for  the  care  he  takes  of  you. 
I  have  wrote  to  him  by  this  vessel.  Mr.  Hunter  and  Polly 
talk  of  returning  this  spring.  He  is  wonderfully  recruited. 
They  both  desire  to  be  remembered  to  you.  She  received 
your  letter  and  answered  it.  Her  answer  I  enclosed  in  one 
of  mine  to  you.  Her  daughter  Rachel,  who  plays  on  the 
harpsichord  and  sings  prettily,  sends  Sally  one  of  her  songs, 
that  I  fancied. 

I  send  you  by  Captain  Budden  a  large  case,  and  a  small 
box.  In  the  large  case  is  another  small  box,  containing 
some  English  china;  viz.  melons  and  leaves  for  a  desert 
of  fruit  and  cream,  or  the  like  j  a  bowl  remarkable  for  the 
neatness  of  the  figures,  made  at  Bow,  near  this  city ;  some 
coffee  cups  of  the  same;  a  Worcester  bowl,  ordinary.  To 
show  the  difference  of  workmanship,  there  is  something 
from  all  the  china  works  in  England;  and  one  old  true 
china  bason  mended,  of  an  odd  color.  The  same  box 
contains  four  silver  salt  ladles,  newest,  but  ugliest,  fashion ; 
a  little  instrument  to  core  apples;  another  to  make  little 


*  John  Bartram,  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1699,  died  September  21,  1777, 
was  the  earliest  of  American  botanists,  founder  of  the  first  botanical  garden 
in  this  country,  and  author  of  some  works  on  the  natural  history  of  parts 
of  this  continent. — Ed. 
34* 


382  PRESENTS  FOR   HIS  FRIENDS.  [iEi.  52. 

turnips  out  of  great  ones ;  six  coarse  diaper  breakfast  cloths ; 
they  are  to  spread  on  the  tea-table,  for  nobody  breakfasts 
here  on  the  naked  table,  but  on  the  cloth  they  set  a  large 
tea  board  with  the  cups.  There  is  also  a  little  basket,  a 
present  from  Mrs.  Stevenson  to  Sally,  and  a  pair  of  garters 
for  you,  which  were  knit  by  the  young  lady,  her  daughter, 
who  favored  me  with  a  pair  of  the  same  kind,  the  only 
ones  I  have  been  able  to  wear;  as  they  need  not  be  bound 
tight,  the  ridges  in  them  preventing  their  slipping.  We 
send  them  therefore  as  a  curiosity  for  the  form,  more  than 
for  the  value.  Goody  Smith  may,  if  she  pleases,  make  such 
for  me  hereafter.     My  love  to  her. 

In  the  great  case,  besides  the  little  box,  is  contained  some 
carpeting  for  a  best  room  floor.  There  is  enough  for  one 
large  or  two  small  ones,  it  is  to  be  sewed  together,  the 
edges  being  first  felled  down,  and  care  taken  to  make 
the  figures  meet  exactly;  there  is  bordering  for  the  same. 
This  was  my  fancy.  Also  two  large  fine  Flanders  bed  ticks, 
and  two  pair  of  large  superfine  blankets,  two  fine  damask 
table-cloths  and  napkins,  and  forty-three  ells  of  Ghentish 
sheeting  Holland.  These  you  ordered.  There  are  also 
fifty-six  yards  of  cotton,  printed  curiously  from  copper 
plates,  a  new  invention,  to  make  bed  and  window  curtains; 
and  seven  yards  of  chair  bottoms,  printed  in  the  same  way, 
very  neat.  These  were  my  fancy;  but  Mrs.  Stevenson  tells 
me  I  did  wrong  not  to  buy  both  of  the  same  color.  Alsa 
seven  yards  of  printed  cotton,  blue  ground,  to  make  you  a 
gown.  I  bought  it  by  candlelight,  and  liked  it  then,  but 
not  so  well  afterwards.  If  you  do  not  fancy  it,  send  it  as  a 
present  from  me  to  sister  Jenny.  There  is  a  better  gown 
for  you,  of  flowered  tissue,  sixteen  yards,  of  Mrs.  Steven- 
son's   fancy,   cost  nine  guineas;    and   1    think   it  a  creat 


/Et.  52.]  PRESENTS  FOR   HIS  FRIENDS.  383 

beauty.  There  was  no  more  of  the  sort,  or  you  should 
have  had  enough  for  a  negligee  or  suit. 

There  are  also  snuffers,  a  snuffstand,  and  extinguisher,  of 
steel,  which  I  send  for  the  beauty  of  the  work.  The  ex- 
tinguisher is  for  spermaceti  candles  only,  and  is  of  a  new 
contrivance,  to  preserve  the  snuff  upon  the  candle.  There 
is  some  music  Billy  bought  for  his  sister,  and  some  pam- 
phlets for  the  Speaker  and  for  Susy  Wright.  A  mahogany  and 
a  little  shagreen  box,  with  microscopes  and  other  optical 
instruments  loose,  are  for  Mr.  Alison,  if  he  likes  them;  if 
not,  put  them  in  my  room  till  I  return.  I  send  the  invoice 
of  them,  and  I  wrote  to  him  formerly  the  reason  of  my  ex- 
ceeding his  orders.  There  are  also  two  sets  of  books,  a 
present  from  me  to  Sally,  "The  World"  and  "The  Con- 
noisseur."    My  love  to  her. 

I  forgot  to  mention  another  of  my  fancyings,  viz.  a  pair 
of  silk  blankets,  very  fine.  They  are  of  a  new  kind,  were 
just  taken  in  a  French  prize,  and  such  were  never  seen  in 
England  before.  They  are  called  blankets,  but  I  think 
they  will  be  very  neat  to  cover  a  summer  bed,  instead  of  a 
quilt  or  counterpane.  I  had  no  choice,  so  you  will  excuse 
the  soil  on  some  of  the  folds ;  your  neighbour  Foster  can 
get  it  off.  I  also  forgot,  among  the  china,  to  mention  a 
large  fine  jug  for  beer,  to  stand  in  the  cooler.  I  fell  in 
love  with  it  at  first  sight;  for  I  thought  it  looked  like  a  fat 
jolly  dame,  clean  and  tidy,  with  a  neat  blue  and  white 
calico  gown  on,  good  natured  and  lovely,  and  put  me  in 
mind  of — somebody.  It  has  the  coffee  cups  in  it,  packed 
in  best  crystal  salt,  of  a  peculiar  nice  flavor,  for  the  table, 
not  to  be  powdered. 

I  hope  Sally  applies  herself  closely  to  her  French  and 
music,  and  that  I  shall  find  she  has  made  great  proficiency. 


3  84  D  OMES  TIC   L IFE   IN  L  OND  ON  [JEr  .  5  2. 

The  harpsichord  I  was  about,  and  which  was  to  have  cost 
me  forty  guineas,  Mr.  Stanley  advises  me  not  to  buy;  and 
we  are  looking  out  for  another,  one  that  has  been  some 
time  in  use,  and  is  a  tried  good  one,  there  being  not  so 
much  dependence  on  a  new  one,  though  made  by  the  best 
hands.  Sally's  last  letter  to  her  brother  is  the  best  wrote 
that  of  late  I  have  seen  of  hers.  I  only  wish  she  was  a 
little  more  careful  of  her  spelling.  I  hope  she  continues 
to  love  going  to  church,  and  would  have  her  read  over  and 
over  again  the  "Whole  Duty  of  Man,"  and  the  "Lady's 
Library." 

Look  at  the  figures  on  the  china  bowl  and  coffee  cups, 
with  your  spectacles  on;  they  will  bear  examining. 

I  have  made  your  compliments  to  Mrs.  Stevenson.  She 
is  indeed  very  obliging,  takes  great  care  of  my  health,  and 
is  very  diligent  when  I  am  any  way  indisposed;  but  yet  I 
have  a  thousand  times  wished  you  with  me,  and  my  little 
Sally  with  her  ready  hands  and  feet  to  do,  and  go,  and 
come,  and  get  what  I  wanted.  There  is  a  great  difference 
in  sickness  between  being  nursed  with  that  tender  attention, 
which  proceeds  from  sincere  love;  and  {The  re- 
mainder of  this  letter  is  lost. ) 

To  his  wife,  I  was  down  at  Cambridge  with  Billy  when 
don6  10  June"  Snead  sailed,  so  I  did  not  write  again  by  him 
x758.  as  I  intended.     His  sailing  so  soon  was  unex- 

pected to  me.  I  am  somewhat  out  of  the  way  of  vessels, 
and  Mr.  Partridge  by  mistake  wrote  me  Snead  was  not  to 
sail  that  week ;  so,  being  very  kindly  entertained  there  in 
the  colleges,  we  did  not  hurry  so  soon  home  as  we  might 
have  done.  However,  this  vessel  perhaps  may  be  there 
about  the  same  time. 


Mt.  52.]    CAUTION-  TO   FEMALE   POLITICIANS.  385 

I  think  nobody  ever  had  more  faithful  correspondents 
than  I  have  in  Mr.  Hughes  and  you.  It  is  impossible  for 
me  to  get  or  keep  out  of  your  debts.  I  received  the  bill 
of  exchange  you  got  of  Mr.  Nelson,  and  it  is  paid.  I 
received  also  the  Proprietary's  account.  It  gives  me  con- 
cern to  receive  such  frequent  accounts  of  your  being  indis- 
posed ;  but  we  both  of  us  grow  in  years,  and  must  expect 
our  constitutions,  though  tolerably  good  in  themselves,  will 
by  degrees  give  way  to  the  infirmities  of  age. 

I  have  sent,  in  a  trunk  of  the  Library  Company's,  some 
of  the  best  writing  paper  for  letters,  and  best  quills  and  wax, 
all  for  Mrs.  Moore,  which  I  beg  she  would  accept ;  having 
received  such  civilities  here  from  her  sister  and  brother 
Scott,  as  are  not  in  my  power  to  return.  I  shall  send  some 
to  Sally  by  the  next  opportunity.  By  Captain  Lutwidge  I 
sent  my  dear  girl  a  newest  fashioned  white  hat  and  cloak, 
and  sundry  little  things,  which  I  hope  will  get  safe  to  hand. 
I  now  send  her  a  pair  of  buckles,  made  of  French  paste 
stones,  which  are  next  in  lustre  to  diamonds.  They  cost 
three  guineas,  and  are  said  to  be  cheap  at  that  price.  I 
fancy  I  see  more  likeness  in  her  picture  than  I  did  at  first, 
and  I  look  at  it  often  with  pleasure,  as  at  least  it  reminds 
me  of  her.  Yours  is  at  the  painter's,  who  is  to  copy  it 
and  do  me  of  the  same  size;  but,  as  to  family  pieces,  it  is 
said  they  never  look  well,  and  are  quite  out  of  fashion,  and 
I  find  the  limner  very  unwilling  to  undertake  any  thing  of 
the  kind.  However,  when  Franky's  comes,  and  that  of 
Sally  by  young  Hesselius,  I  shall  see  what  can  be  done.  I 
wonder  how  you  came  by  Ben  Lay's  picture. 

You  are  very  prudent  not  to  engage  in  party  disputes. 
Women  never  should  meddle  with  them,  except  in  en- 
deavours to  reconcile  their  husbands,  brothers,  and  friends, 


386  DELICACY  TOWARDS   OLD   FRIENDS.    \_JEt.  52. 

who  happen  to  be  of  contrary  sides.  If  your  sex  keep 
cool,  you  may  be  a  means  of  cooling  ours  the  sooner,  and 
restoring  more  speedily  that  social  harmony  among  fellow- 
citizens,  that  is  so  desirable  after  long  and  bitter  dissensions. 

Cousin  Dunlap*  has  wrote  me  an  account  of  his  purchas- 
ing Chattin's  printing-house.  I  wish  it  may  be  advantage- 
ous to  him  without  injuring  Mr.  Hall.  I  can  however  do 
nothing  to  encourage  him,  as  a  printer  in  Philadelphia, 
inconsistent  with  my  preengagement  to  so  faithful  a  partner. 
And  I  trust  you  will  take  care  not  to  do  any  thing  in  that 
way,  that  may  draw  reflections  on  me;  as  if  I  did  under- 
hand, through  your  means,  what  I  would  not  care  to  appear 
in  openly.  I  hope  he  will  keep  a  good  understanding  with 
Mr.  Hall,f  and  I  am  pleased  to  hear  that  he  asked  his 
advice  and  friendship;  but  I  have  thought  it  right  and 
necessary  to  forbid  the  use  of  my  letters  by  Mr.  Dunlap 
without  Mr.  Hall's  consent.  The  post-office,  if  it  is  agree- 
able to  you,  may  be  removed  to  Mr.  Dunlap's  house,  it 
being  proposed  by  our  good  friend  Mr.  Hughes. 

I  wrote  to  you  lately  to  speak  to  AmbrusterJ  not  to  make 
use  of  my  name  any  more  in  his  newspaper,  as  I  have  no 
particular  concern  in  it,  but  as  one  of  the  trustees  only.  I 
have  no  prospect  of  returning  till  next  spring,  so  you  will 
not  expect  me.  But  pray  remember  to  make  me  as  happy 
as  you  can,  by  sending  some  pippins  for  myself  and  friends, 
some  of  your  small  hams,  and  some  cranberries. 


*  William  Dunlap,  a  native  of  Ireland,  a  printer  in  Philadelphia,  and 
recently  married  to  a  relation  of  Mrs.  Franklin. — Ed. 

f  Mr.  David  Hall  had  been  the  partner,  and  was  now  the  successor,  of 
Franklin  in  his  business. — Ed. 

\  Anthony  Ambruster,  a  German  printer  in  Philadelphia,  and  for  some 
time  publisher  of  a  newspaper  there  in  the  German  language. — Ed. 


/Et.  52.]  SUGGESTIONS   TO  HIS    WIFE.  387 

Billy  is  of  the  Middle  Temple,  and  will  be  called  to  the 
bar  either  this  term  or  the  next.  I  write  this  in  answer  to 
your  particular  inquiry.  I  am  glad  you  like  the  cloak  I  sent 
you.  The  black  silk  was  sent  by  our  friend  Mr.  Collinson. 
I  never  saw  it.  Your  answer  to  Mr.  Strahan  was  just  what 
it  should  be.  I  was  much  pleased  with  it.  He  fancied  his 
rhetoric  and  art  would  certainly  bring  you  over. 

I  have  ordered  two  large  print  Common  Prayer  Books  to 
be  bound,  on  purpose  for  you  and  Goody  Smith;  and,  that 
the  largeness  of  the  print  may  not  make  them  too  bulky, 
the  christenings,  matrimonies,  and  every  thing  else  that  you 
and  she  have  not  immediate  and  constant  occasion  for,  are 
to  be  omitted.  So  you  will  both  of  you  be  reprieved  from 
the  use  of  spectacles  in  church  a  little  longer. 

If  the  ringing  of  the  bells  frightens  you,  tie  a  piece  of 
wire  from  one  bell  to  the  other,  and  that  will  conduct  the 
lightning  without  ringing  or  snapping,  but  silently;  though 
I  think  it  best  the  bells  should  be  at  liberty  to  ring,  that 
you  may  know  when  they  are  electrified;  and  when  you  are 
afraid  you  may  keep  at  a  distance.*  I  wrote  last  winter  to 
Josey  Crocker  to  come  over  hither  and  stay  a  year,  and 
work  in  some  of  the  best  shops  for  improvement  in  his 
business,  and  therefore  did  not  send  the  tools;  but,  if  he  is 
about  to  be  married,  I  would  not  advise  him  to  come.  I 
shall  send  the  tools  immediately.  You  have  disposed  of  the 
appletrees  very  properly.  I  condole  with  you  on  the  loss 
of  your  walnuts. 


*  In  the  year  1753  Franklin  had  erected  an  iron  rod  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  l'ghtning  from  the  clouds  into  his  house.  He  also  placed  two  bells 
in  such  a  position  that  they  would  ring  when  the  rod  was  electrified.  Mrs. 
Franklin,  it  seems,  did  not  fancy  having  the  clouds  on  such  a  familiar  foot- 
ing in  the  house  during  her  husband's  absence. — Ed. 


388  GOVERNOR   DENNY  REMOVED.  [/Et.  52 

I  see  the  governor's  treatment  of  his  wife  makes  all  the 
ladies  angry.  If  it  is  on  account  of  the  bad  example,  that 
will  soon  be  removed;  for  the  Proprietors  are  privately 
looking  out  for  another  ;  being  determined  to  discard  him, 
and  the  place  goes  a  begging.  One,  to  whom  it  was 
offered,  sent  a  friend  to  make  some  inquiries  of  me.  The 
Proprietors  told  him  they  had  there  a  city-house  and  a 
country-house,  which  he  might  use  rent  free;  that  every 
thing  was  so  cheap  he  might  live  on  five  hundred  pounds 
sterling  a  year,  keep  a  genteel  table,  a  coach,  &c,  and  his 
income  would  be  at  least  nine  hundred  pounds.  If  it  fell 
short  of  that,  the  Proprietors  would  engage  to  make  it  up. 
For  the  truth  of  his  being  able  to  live  genteelly,  and  keep  a 
coach  for  five  hundred  pounds  a  year,  the  Proprietors  re- 
ferred him  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  who,  it  seems,  told  him  the 
same  story ;  but,  on  inquiry  of  Mr.  Morris,  he  had  quite  a 
different  account,  and  knew  not  which  to  believe.  The 
gentleman  is  one  Mr.  Graves,  a  lawyer  of  the  Temple.  He 
hesitated  a  good  while,  and  I  am  now  told  has  declined 
accepting  it.  I  wish  that  may  not  be  true,  for  he  has  the 
character  of  being  a  very  good  sort  of  man ;  though  while 
the  instructions  continue,  it  matters  little  who  is  our 
governor.  It  was  to  have  been  kept  a  secret  from  me,  that 
the  Proprietors  were  looking  out  for  a  new  one ;  because 
they  would  not  have  Mr.  Denny  know  any  thing  about  it, 
till  the  appointment  was  actually  made,  and  the  gentleman 
ready  to  embark.  So  you  may  make  a  secret  of  it  too,  if 
you  please,  and  oblige  all  your  friends  with  it.* 

*  The  negotiations  with  Mr.  Graves  to  succeed  Governor  Denny  failed, 
and  the  post  was  offered  to  and  accepted  by  Mr.  James  Hamilton,  a  native 
of  Philadelphia,  who  had  been  formerly  governor  of  the  colony,  and  who 
chanced  to  be  then  in  London.  On  the  disputed  question  of  taxing  the 
proprietary  estates,  the  Proprietors  did  not  gain  much  by  the  change.  —ED, 


Mr.  52.]   COUNTERMINING    THE  PROPRIETORS.       38c, 

I  need  not  tell  you  to  assist  godmother  in  her  difficulties; 
for  I  know  you  will  think  it  as  agreeable  to  me,  as  it  is  to 
your  own  good  disposition.  I  could  not  find  the  bit  of 
thread  you  mention  to  have  sent  me,  of  your  own  spinning. 
Perhaps  it  was  too  fine  to  be  seen.  I  am  glad  little  Franky 
begins  to  talk.    It  will  divert  you  to  have  him  often  with  you. 

Mrs.  Stevenson  and  her  daughter  desire  me  to  present 
their  compliments,  and  offer  their  services  to  you  and  Sally. 
I  think  of  going  into  the  country  soon,  and  shall  be  pretty 
much  out  this  summer,  in  different  parts  of  England.  I 
depend  chiefly  on  these  journeys  for  the  establishment  of 
my  health. 

To  the  Speak-  Mr.  Charles*  at  my  request  has  drawn  the 
er  and  Com-      t  t      £  t^  j    order  to  obtain  opinions 

mittee  of  the  '  r 

Pennsylvania  of  eminent  lawyers  how  far  our  present  privi- 
tedSe  Lorfdon^  *e&es  would  be  affected  in  case  of  a  change  of 
10  June,  1758.  government,  by  our  coming  immediately  under 
the  crown.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  this  case,  with  the  opinion 
of  our  counsel  upon  it,  who  is  esteemed  the  best  acquainted 
with  our  American  affairs  and  constitutions,  as  well  as  with 
government  law  in  general.  He  being  also  thoroughly 
knowing  in  the  present  views  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  in 
their  connexions  and  characters,  has  given  me  withal,  as  a 
friend,  some  prudential  advice  in  a  separate  sheet  distinct 
from  his  law  opinion,  because  the  law  opinion  might  neces- 
sarily appear  where  he  would  not  care  the  advice  should 
be  seen.  I  send  you,  also,  a  copy  of  this,  and  should  be 
glad  of  your  sentiments  upon  it.     One  thing,  that  he  recom* 


*  A  lawyer  who,  for  some  years,  had  been  agent  of  the  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  England. — Ed. 

35  8 


39G       COUNTERMINING    THE    PROPRIETORS.    [Mr.  52. 

mends  to  be  done  before  we  push  our  point  in  Parliament, 
is,  removing  the  prejudices,  that  art  and  accident  have 
spread  among  the  people  of  this  country  against  us,  and 
obtaining  for  us  the  good  opinion  of  the  bulk  of  mankind 
without  doors.  This  I  hope  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  do, 
by  means  of  a  work  now  nearly  ready  for  the  press,  calcu- 
lated to  engage  the  attention  of  many  readers,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  efface  the  bad  impressions  received  of  us ;  but 
it  is  thought  best  not  to  publish  it,  till  a  little  before  the 
next  session  of  Parliament.* 

The  Proprietors  are  determined  to  discard  their  present 
governor,  as  soon  as  they  can  find  a  successor  to  their  mind. 
They  have  lately  offered  the  government  to  one  Mr.  Graves, 
a  gentleman  of  the  Temple,  who  has  had  it  for  some  time 
under  consideration,  and  makes  a  difficulty  of  accepting  it. 
The  beginning  of  the  week  it  was  thought  he  would  accept; 
but  on  Thursday  night  I  was  told  he  had  resolved  to  refuse  it. 
I  know  not,  however,  whether  he  may  not  yet  be  prevailed  on. 
He  has  the  character  of  a  man  of  good  understanding,  and 
good  dispositions.     (The  remainder  of  the  letter  is  lost.) 


*  The  book  of  which  Franklin  here  speaks  is  the  "  Historical  Review  of 
the  Constitution  and  Government  of  Pennsylvania,"  which  was  published  in 
the  year  1759.  I*  was  a  rather  lively  attack  upon  William  Penn  and  his  de- 
scendants, and  made  no  slight  sensation  when  it  appeared.  Public  opinion 
ascribed  its  authorship  to  Franklin,  and  he  was  assailed  for  it  with  great 
virulence  by  all  the  proprietary  press.  Franklin  did  not  disavow  the  paternity 
then,  nor  did  he  ever  do  so  publicly.  Indeed,  there  was  little  doubt  that  he 
had  furnished  most  of  the  material,  and  that  it  was  printed,  published,  and  cir- 
culated under  his  direction  ;  but  we  now  know,  from  a  letter  to  David  Hume 
of  the  27th  Sept.,  1760,  that  though  he  was  not  strictly  speaking  the  author, 
he  must  have  furnished  all  the  material.  It  was  doubtless  put  into  shape 
by  his  son  William  and  by  his  old  friend  Ralph.  The  letter  to  Hume  will 
be  found  infra,  p.  410. —  ED. 


.Et.  52.]  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  ATTENTIONS.     39] 

To  his  wife,  In  mine  of  June  10th,  by  the  Mercury, 
don  6  Sept"  Captain  Robinson,  I  mentioned  our  having 
x758.  been  at  Cambridge.    We  stayed  there  a  week, 

being  entertained  with  great  kindness  by  the  principal 
people,  and  shown  all  the  curiosities  of  the  place ;  and, 
returning  by  another  road  to  see  more  of  the  country,  we 
came  again  to  London.  I  found  the  journey  advantageous 
to  my  health,  increasing  both  my  health  and  spirits,  and 
therefore,  as  all  the  great  folks  were  out  of  town,  and  public 
business  at  a  stand,  I  the  more  easily  prevailed  with  myself 
to  take  another  journey,  and  accept  of  the  invitation  we 
had,  to  be  again  at  Cambridge  at  the  Commencement,  the 
beginning  of  July.  We  went  accordingly,  were  present  at 
all  the  ceremonies,  dined  every  day  in  their  halls,  and  my 
vanity  was  not  a  little  gratified  by  the  particular  regard 
shown  me  by  the  chancellor  and  vice-chancellor  of  the 
University,  and  the  heads  of  colleges. 

After  the  Commencement,  we  went  from  Cambridge 
through  Huntingdonshire  into  Northumberlandshire,*  and 
at  Wellingborough,  on  inquiry,  we  found  still  living  Mary 
Fisher,  whose  maiden  name  was  Franklin,  daughter  and 
only  child  of  Thomas  Franklin,  my  father's  eldest  brother. 
She  is  five  years  older  than  sister  Dowse,  and  remembers 
her  going  away  with  my  father  and  his  then  wife,  and  two 
other  children  to  New  England  about  the  year  1685.  We 
have  had  no  correspondence  with  her  since  my  uncle 
Benjamin's  death,  now  near  thirty  years.  I  knew  she  had 
lived  at  Wellingborough,  and  had  married  there  to  one  Mr. 
Richard  Fisher,  a  grazier  and  tanner,  about  fifty  years  ago, 
but  did  not  expect  to  see  either  of  them  alive,  so  inquired  for 


*  Obviously  a  misprint  or  slip  of  the  pen  for  Northamptonshire. — Ed. 


$g2  THE   HOME    OF  HIS  ANCESTORS.        [Mr.  52. 

their  posterity.  I  was  directed  to  their  house,  and  we  found 
them  both  alive,  but  weak  with  age,  very  glad  however  to 
see  us.  She  seems  to  have  been  a  very  smart,  sensible 
woman.  They  are  wealthy,  have  left  off  business,  and  live 
comfortably.  They  have  had  only  one  child,  a  daughter, 
who  died,  when  about  thirty  ^ears  of  age,  unmarried.  She 
gave  me  several  of  my  uncle  Benjamin's  letters  to  her,  and 
acquainted  me  where  the  other  remains  of  the  family  lived, 
of  which  I  have,  since  my  return  to  London,  found  out  a 
daughter  of  my  father's  only  sister,  very  old,  and  never 
married.  She  is  a  good,  clever  woman,  but  poor,  though 
vastly  contented  with  her  situation,  and  very  cheerful. 
The  others  are  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  I  intend 
to  visit  them,  but  they  were  too  much  out  of  our  tour  in  that 
journey. 

From  Wellingborough  we  went  to  Ecton,  about  three  or 
four  miles,  being  the  village  where  my  father  was  born,  and 
where  his  father,  grandfather,  and  great-grandfather  had 
lived,  and  how  many  of  the  family  before  them  we  know 
not.  We  went  first  to  see  the  old  house  and  grounds ;  they 
came  to  Mr.  Fisher  with  his  wife,  and,  after  letting  them 
for  some  years,  finding  his  rent  something  ill  paid,  he  sold 
them.  The  land  is  now  added  to  another  farm,  and  a 
school  kept  in  the  house.  It  is  a  decayed  old  stone  build- 
ing, but  still  known  by  the  name  of  Franklin  House. 
Thence  we  went  to  visit  the  rector  of  the  parish,  who  lives 
close  by  the  church,  a  very  ancient  building.  He  enter- 
tained us  very  kindly,  and  showed  us  the  old  church 
register,  in  which  were  the  births,  marriages,  and  burials 
of  our  ancestors  for  two  hundred  years,  as  early  as  his  book 
began.  His  wife,  a  goodnatured,  chatty,  old  lady,  (grand- 
daughter of  the  famous  Archdeacon  Palmer,  who  formerly 


<Et.  52.]        THE  HOME    OF  HIS  ANCESTORS.  393 

had  that  parish,  and  lived  there,)  remembered  a  great  deal 
about  the  family;  carr.ed  us  out  into  the  churchyard,  and 
showed  us  several  of  their  gravestones,  which  were  so 
covered  with  moss  that  we  could  not  read  the  letters,  till 
she  ordered  a  hard  brush  and  basin  of  water,  with  which 
Peter  scoured  them  clean,  and  then  Billy  copied  them. 
She  entertained  and  diverted  us  highly  with  stories  of 
Thomas  Franklin,  Mrs.  Fisher's  father,  who  was  a  convey- 
ancer, something  of  a  lawyer,  clerk  of  the  county  courts, 
and  clerk  to  the  archdeacon  in  his  visitations ;  a  very  lead- 
ing man  in  all  county  affairs,  and  much  employed  in  public 
business.  He  set  on  foot  a  subscription  for  erecting  chimes 
in  their  steeple,  and  completed  it,  and  we  heard  them 
play.  He  found  out  an  easy  method  of  saving  their  village 
meadows  from  being  drowned,  as  they  used  to  be  sometimes 
by  the  river,  which  method  is  still  in  being ;  but,  when  first 
proposed,  nobody  could  conceive  how  it  could  be;  "but 
however,"  they  said,  "if  Franklin  says  he  knows  how  to 
do  it,  it  will  be  done."  His  advice  and  opinion  were 
sought  for  on  all  occasions,  by  all  sorts  of  people,  and  he 
was  looked  upon,  she  said,  by  some,  as  something  of  a  con- 
jurer. He  died  just  four  years  before  I  was  born,  on  the 
same  day  of  the  same  month. 

Since  our  return  to  London,  I  have  had  a  kind  letter 
from  cousin  Fisher,  and  another  from  the  rector,  which  I 
send  you. 

From  Ecton  we  went  to  Northampton,  where  we  stayed 
part  of  the  day  ;  then  went  to  Coventry,  and  from  thence 
to  Birmingham.  Here,  upon  inquiry,  we  soon  found  out 
yours,  and  cousin  Wilkinson's,  and  cousin  Cash's  relations. 
First,  we  found  out  one  of  the  Cashes,  and  he  went  with  us 
to  Rebecca  Flint's,  where  we  saw  her  and  her  husband, 
35* 


394  THE   HCME    OF  HIS  ANCESTORS.        [Mv.  52. 

She  is  a  turner  and  he  a  buttonmaker ;  they  have  no  chil- 
dren ;  were  very  glad  to  see  any  person  that  knew  their 
sister  Wilkinson;  told  us  what  letters  they  had  received, 
and  showed  us  some  of  them ;  and  even  showed  us  that  they 
had,  out  of  respect,  preserved  a  keg,  in  which  they  had 
received  a  present  of  some  sturgeon.  They  sent  for  their 
brother,  Joshua  North,  who  came  with  his  wife  immediately 
to  see  us  \  he  is  a  turner  also,  and  has  six  children,  a  lively, 
active  man.  Mrs.  Flint  desired  me  to  tell  her  sister,  that 
they  live  still  in  the  old  house  she  left  them  in,  which  I 
think  she  says  was  their  father's.  From  thence  Mr.  North 
went  with  us  to  your  cousin  Benjamin's.  {The  remainder 
of  this  letter  is  wanting. ) 

To  his  sister,  I  wonder  you  have  had  no  letter  from  me 
com  Led  since  my  being  in  England.  I  have  wrote  you 
London,     16    at  least  two,  and  I  think  a  third  before  this, 

Sept.,  1758. 

and,  what  was  next  to  waiting  on  you  in 
person,  sent  you  my  picture.  In  June  last  I  sent  Benny*  a 
trunk  of  books,  and  wrote  to  him.  I  hope  they  are  come 
to  hand,  and  that  he  meets  with  encouragement  in  his 
business.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  conquest  of  Cape 
Breton,  and  hope,  as  your  people  took  it  by  praying  the 
first  time,  you  will  now  pray  that  it  may  never  be  given  up 
again,  which  you  then  forgot.  Billy  is  well,  but  in  the 
country.  I  left  him  at  Tunbridge  Wells,  where  we  spent 
a  fortnight,  and  he  is  now  gone  with  some  company  to  see 
Portsmouth.  We  have  been  together  over  a  great  part  of 
England  this  summer,  and,  among  other  places,  visited  the 
town  our  father  was  born  in,  and  found  some  relations  ir 
that  part  of  the  country  still  living. 


*  Mrs.  Mecom's  son. — Ed 


4£t.  52.]  "NONE  BUT  CHRIST.''  395 

Our  cousin  Jane  Franklin,  daughter  of  our  uncle  John, 
died  about  a  year  ago.  We  saw  her  husband,  Robert  Page, 
who  gave  us  some  old  letters  to  his  wife  from  uncle  Benja- 
min. In  one  of  them,  dated  Boston,  July  4th,  1723,  he 
writes  that  your  uncle  Josiah  has  a  daughter  Jane,  about 
twelve  years  old,  a  good-humored  child.  So  keep  up  to 
your  character,  and  don't  be  angry  when  you  have  no 
letters.  In  a  little  book  he  sent  her,  called  "None  but 
Christ,"  he  wrote  an  acrostic  on  her  name,  which  for  name- 
sake's sake,  as  well  as  the  good  advice  it  contains,  I  tran- 
scribe and  send  you,  viz. 

"  Illuminated  from  on  high, 
And  shining  brightly  in  your  sphere, 
Ne'er  faint,  but  keep  a  steady  eye, 
Expecting  endless  pleasures  there. 

"  Flee  vice  as  you'd  a  serpent  flee ; 
Raise  faith  and  hope  three  stories  higher, 
And  let  Christ's  endless  love  to  thee 
Ne'er  cease  to  make  thy  love  aspire. 
Kindness  of  heart  by  words  express, 
Let  your  obedience  be  sincere, 
In  prayer  and  praise  your  God  address, 
Nor  cease,  till  he  can  cease  to  hear." 

After  professing  truly  that  I  had  a  great  esteem  and  ven- 
eration for  the  pious  author,  permit  me  a  little  to  play  the 
commentator  and  critic  on  these  lines.  The  meaning  of 
three  stories  higher  seems  somewhat  obscure.  You  are  to 
understand,  then,  that  faith,  hope,  and  charity  have  been 
called  the  three  steps  of  Jacob's  ladder,  reaching  from 
earth  to  heaven  ;  our  author  calls  them  stories,  likening  re- 
ligion to  a  building,  and  these  are  the  three  stories  of  the 
Christian  edifice.  Thus  improvement  in  religion  is  called 
building  up  and  edification.  Faith  is  then  the  ground  floor, 
hope  is  up  one  pair  of  stairs.     My  dear  beloved  Jenny,  don't 


396  FAITH,  HOPE,  CHARITY.  [^T.  52. 

delight  so  much  to  dwell  in  those  lower  rooms,  but  get  as 
fast  as  you  can  into  the  garret,  for  in  truth  the  best  room  in 
the  house  is  charity.  For  my  part,  I  wish  the  house  was 
turned  upside  down ;  it  is  so  difficult  (when  one  is  fat)  to 
go  up  stairs;  and  not  only  so,  but  I  imagine  hope  and.  faith 
may  be  more  firmly  built  upon  charity,  than  charity  upon 
faith  and  hope.  However  that  may  be,  I  think  it  the  better 
reading  to  say — 

"  Raise  faith  and  hope  one  story  higher." 

Correct  it  boldly,  and  I'll  support  the  alteration ;  for,  when 
you  are  up  two  stories  already,  if  you  raise  your  building 
three  stories  higher  you  will  make  five  in  all,  which  is  two 
more  than  there  should  be,  you  expose  your  upper  rooms 
more  to  the  winds  and  storms;  and,  besides,  I  am  afraid 
the  foundation  will  hardly  bear  them,  unless  indeed  you 
build  with  such  light  stuff  as  straw  and  stubble,  and  that, 
you  know,  won't  stand  fire.  Again,  where  the  author  says, 
"  Kindness  of  heart  by  words  express," 

strike  out  words,  and  put  in  deeds.  The  world  is  too  full 
of  compliments  already.  They  are  the  rank  growth  of  every 
soil,  and  choke  the  good  plants  of  benevolence  and  benefi- 
cence ;  nor  do  I  pretend  to  be  the  first  in  this  comparison 
of  words  and  actions  to  plants;  you  may  remember  an 
ancient  poet,  whose  works  we  have  all  studied  and  copied 
at  school  long  ago. 

"  A  man  of  words  and  not  of  deeds 
Is  like  a  garden  full  of  weeds." 

It  is  pity  that  good  works,  among  some  sorts  of  people, 
are  so  little  valued,  and  good  words  admired  in  their  stead ; 
I  mean  seemingly  pious  discourses,  instead  of  humane 
benevolent  actions.     Those  they  almost  put  out  of  counte- 


JEt.  52.]  CONTINENTAL   FAME.  397 

nance,  by  calling  morality  rotten  morality,  righteousness 
ragged  righteousness,  and  even  filthy  rags.  So  much  by  way 
of  commentary. 

My  wife  will  let  you  see  my  letter,  containing  an  account 
of  our  travels,  which  I  would  have  you  read  to  sister  Dowse, 
and  give  my  love  to  her.  I  have  no  thoughts  of  returning 
till  next  year,  and  then  may  possibly  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you  and  yours ;  taking  Boston  in  my  way  home.* 


*  Much  of  Franklin's  time  during  the  year  1759  was  devoted  to  electrical 
experiments,  which  led  to  a  large  correspondence  with  the  learned  through- 
out Europe,  most  of  which,  however,  is  unhappily  lost.  The  following  flat- 
tering letter  from  the  celebrated  Dr.  Musschenbroek  was  accompanied  by  a 
list  of  all  the  principal  treatises  on  electricity,  which  had  at  that  time  been 
published  in  the  Latin,  German,  French,  and  English  languages. 

"  VlRO  NOBILISSIMO  AMPLISSIMOQUE,   BENJAMINI    FRANKLIN,  S.  P.  D. 

P.  V.  Musschenbroek. 

"  Vir  reverendus,  qui  se  ministerio  Evangelico  fungi  profitebatur,  me  tuo 
nomine  rogavit,  ut  indicarem  autores,  qui  de  Electricitate  scripserunt, 
mihique  erant  cogniti.  Votis  tuis  lubenter  annui ;  ita  addisces  quid  alii  in 
Europa  prae^titerunt  eruditi,  sed  simul  videbis  neminem  magis  recondita 
mysteria  Ek^.tricitatis  detexisse  Franklino. 

"  Utinam  modo  pergas  proprio  Marte  capere  experimenta,  et  alia  incedere 
via,  quam  Europaei  incesserunt,  nam  turn  plura  et  alia  deteges,  quae  secu- 
lorum  spatio  laterent  philosophos.  Ae'r  Pensylvanicus  videtur  esse  elec- 
tricitatis plenissimus ;  sed  attende  an  per  totum  anni  curriculum,  an  interdum 
pauperior  sit;  quibus  anni  diebus,  quo  flante  vento,  qua.  cceli  constitutione ; 
distingue  nubes  electricitatis  plenas  aut  expertes,  uti  volante  in  altum  serico 
incepisti  detegere  omnium  primus.  Opto  similia  perpulcra  inventa  legere 
Pensylvanica,  ac  scripsisti  in  litteris  ad  expertissimum  virum  Collinsonum ; 
sique  mecum  quaedam  communicare  digneris,  tecum  alia  communicabo,  nam 
meus  scopus  est  scientiam  physicam  et  naturalem  promovere  quamdiu 
vivam. 

"  Tu  sis,  amicissime,  salutatus  a  tui  benevolentissimo   cultore,  et  vale. 

"  L*yd<e.  150  Aprilis,  1759." — ^D. 


398  VISIT  TO   LORD   KAMES.  [JEt.  53. 

To  Lord  You  have  been  pleased  kindly  to  desire  to 

ted"  London]  have  a11  my  publications.  I  had  daily  expec- 
3  Jan.,  1760.  tations  of  procuring  some  of  them  from  a  friend 
to  whom  I  formerly  sent  them  when  I  was  in  America, 
and  postponed  writing  to  you,  till  I  should  obtain  them ; 
but  at  length  he  tells  me  he  cannot  find  them ;  very  morti- 
fying this  to  an  author,  that  his  works  should  so  soon  be 
lost !  So  I  can  only  send  you  my  "  Observations  on  the 
Peopling  of  Countries,"  which  happens  to  have  been  re- 
printed here;  "The  Description  of  the  Pennsylvania  Fire- 
place," a  machine  of  my  contriving;  and  some  little 
sketches  that  have  been  printed  in  the  "  Grand  Magazine," 
which  I  should  hardly  own,  did  I  not  know  that  your 
friendly  partiality  would  make  them  seem  at  least  tolerable. 
How  unfortunate  I  was,  that  I  did  not  press  you  and  Lady 
Kames  more  strongly  to  favor  us  with  your  company  farther. 
How  much  more  agreeable  would  our  journey  have  been, 
if  we  could  have  enjoyed  you  as  far  as  York.  We  could 
have  beguiled  the  way,  by  discoursing  on  a  thousand  things, 
that  now  we  may  never  have  an  opportunity  of  considering 
together;  for  conversation  warms  the  mind,  enlivens  the 
imagination,  and  is  continually  starting  fresh  game,  that  is 
immediately  pursued  and  taken,  and  which  would  never  have 
occurred  in  the  duller  intercourse  of  epistolary  correspond- 
ence.    So  that  whenever  I  reflect  on  the  great  pleasure  and 


*  Author  of  "  Elements  of  Criticism,"  published  in  1762 ;  "  Sketches  of 
the  History  of  Man,"  in  1773  ;  and  a  small  work  published  in  1761,  entitled 
"  An  Introduction  to  the  Art  of  Thinking,"  which  was  originally  compiled 
for  the  use  of  his  own  children.  During  this  trip  to  Scotland  the  doctor, 
with  his  son  William,  passed  some  time  with  Lord  Kames,  and  a  friendship 
grew  out  of  their  intimacy  which  lasted  during  their  lives.  Lord  Kames 
died  December  27th,  1782,  in  the  eighty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  This  letter 
was  written  not  long  after  Franklin's  return  to  London. — Ed. 


&T.  53.]  WILLIAM  PENWS  PICTURE.  399 

advantage  I  received  from  the  free  communication  of  senti- 
ment, in  the  conversation  we  had  at  Karnes,  and  in  the 
agreeable  little  rides  to  the  Tweed  side,  I  shall  for  ever 
regret  our  premature  parting. 

No  one  can  more  sincerely  rejoice  than  I  do,  on  the 
reduction  of  Canada;  and  this  is  not  merely  as  I  am  a 
colonist,  but  as  I  am  a  Briton.  I  have  long  been  of  opinion, 
that  the  foundations  of  the  future  grandeur  and  stability  of 
the  British  empire  lie  in  America  ;  and  though,  like  other 
foundations,  they  are  low  and  little  now,  they  are,  nevei- 
theless,  broad  and  strong  enough  to  support  the  greatest 
political  structure  that  human  wisdom  ever  yet  erected.  I 
am,  therefore,  by  no  means  for  restoring  Canada.  If  we 
keep  it,  all  the  country  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi will  in  another  century  be  filled  with  British  people. 
Britain  itself  will  become  vastly  more  populous,  by  the  im- 
mense increase  of  its  commerce ;  the  Atlantic  sea  will  be 
covered  with  your  trading  ships ;  and  your  naval  power, 
thence  continually  increasing,  will  extend  your  influence 
round  the  whole  globe,  and  awe  the  world  !  If  the  French 
remain  in  Canada,  they  will  continually  harass  our  colonies 
by  the  Indians,  and  impede  if  not  prevent  their  growth ; 
your  progress  to  greatness  will  at  best  be  slow,  and  give 
room  for  many  accidents  that  may  for  ever  prevent  it.  But 
I  refrain,  for  I  see  you  begin  to  think  my  notions  extrava- 
gant, and  look  upon  them  as  the  ravings  of  a  mad 
prophet. 

Your  Lordship's  kind  offer  of  Penn's  picture  is  extremely 
obliging.  But,  were  it  certainly  his  picture,  it  would  be 
too  valuable  a  curiosity  for  me  to  think  of  accepting  it.  I 
should  only  desire  the  favor  of  leave  to  take  a  copy  of  it. 
I  could  wish  to  know  the  history  of  the  picture  before  it 


400  WILLIAM  PENN'S  PICTURE.  [JEt.  53. 

came  into  your  hands,  and  the  grounds  for  supposing  it  his. 
I  have  at  present  some  doubts  about  it ;  first,  because  the 
primitive  Quakers  declared  against  pictures  as  a  vain  ex- 
pense; a  man's  suffering  his  portrait  to  be  taken  was 
conceived  as  pride ;  and  I  think  to  this  day  it  is  very  little 
practised  among  them.  Then,  it  is  on  a  board ;  and  I 
imagine  the  practice  of  painting  portraits  on  boards  did 
not  come  down  so  low  as  Penn's  time ;  but  of  this  I  am  not 
certain.  My  other  reason  is  an  anecdote  I  have  heard,  viz. 
that  when  old  Lord  Cobham  was  adorning  his  gardens  at 
Stow  with  busts  of  famous  men,  he  made  inquiry  of  the 
family  for  the  picture  of  William  Penn,  in  order  to  get  a 
bust  formed  from  it,  but  could  find  none ;  that  Sylvanus 
Bevan,  an  old  Quaker  apothecary,  remarkable  for  the  notice 
he  takes  of  countenances,  and  a  knack  he  has  of  cutting  in 
ivory,  strong  likenesses  of  persons  he  has  once  seen,  hearing 
of  Lord  Cobham' s  desire,  set  himself  to  recollect  Penn's 
face,  with  which  he  had  been  well  acquainted ;  and  cut  a 
little  bust  of  him  in  ivory,  which  he  sent  to  Lord  Cobham, 
without  any  letter  or  notice  that  it  was  Penn's.  But  my 
Lord,  who  had  personally  known  Penn,  on  seeing  it, 
immediately  cried  out,  "  Whence  comes  this?  It  is  William 
Penn  himself!"  And  from  this  little  bust,  they  say,  the  large 
one  in  the  gardens  was  formed. 

I  doubt,  too,  whether  the  whisker  was  not  quite  out  of 
use  at  the  time  when  Penn  must  have  been  of  an  age 
appearing  in  the  face  of  that  picture.  And  yet,  notwith- 
standing these  reasons,  I  am  not  without  some  hope  that  it 
may  be  his ;  because  I  know  some  eminent  Quakers  have 
had  their  pictures  privately  drawn  and  deposited  with  trusty 
friends;  and  know,  also,  that  there  is  extant  at  Philadelphia 
a  very  good  picture  of  Mrs.  Penn,  his  last  wife.     After  all, 


dvr.  54. J  PROSPECT  OF  PEACE.  40 1 

I  own  I  have  a  strong  desire  to  be  satisfied  concerning  this 
picture ;  and  as  Bevan  is  yet  living  here,  and  some  other 
old  Quakers  that  remember  William  Penn,  who  died  but 
1718,  I  would  wish  to  have  it  sent  to  me  carefully  packed 
up  in  a  box  by  the  wagon,  (for  I  would  not  trust  it  by  sea,) 
that  I  may  obtain  their  opinion.  The  charges  I  shall  very 
cheerfully  pay ;  and  if  it  proves  to  be  Penn's  picture,  I  shall 
be  greatly  obliged  to  your  Lordship  for  leave  to  take  a  copy 
of  it,  and  will  carefully  return  the  original.* 

My  son  joins  with  me  in  the  most  respectful  compli 
ments  to  you  and  Lady  Kames.  Our  conversation,  till  we 
came  to  York,  was  chiefly  a  recollection  of  what  we  had 
seen  and  heard,  the  pleasure  we  had  enjoyed,  and  the  kind- 
nesses we  had  received,  in  Scotland,  and  how  far  that 
country  had  exceeded  our  expectations.  On  the  whole,  I 
must  say,  I  think  the  time  we  spent  there  was  six  weeks  of 
the  densest  happiness  I  have  met  with  in  any  part  of  my 
life;  and  the  agreeable  and  instructive  society  we  found 
there  in  such  plenty  has  left  so  pleasing  an  impression  on 
my  memory,  that,  did  not  strong  connexions  draw  me 
elsewhere,  I  believe  Scotland  would  be  the  country  I  should 
choose  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  in. 

To  John  There  has  been  for  some  time  a  talk  of  peace, 

tedg  London"  anc*  probably  we  should  have  had  one  this 
7  Jan.,  1760.  winter,  if  the  king  of  Prussia's  late  misfortunes 
had  not  given  the  enemy  fresh  spirits,  and  encouraged  them 


*  Mr.  Sparks  thinks  Dr.  Franklin's  doubts,  respecting  the  above  picture, 
were  probably  just.  Mr.  Tytler  says,  in  his  "  Life  of  Lord  Kames,"  that  it  was 
sent  to  Dr.  Franklin,  and  never  returned  ;  but  the  fact  of  its  not  having  been 
known  in  Philadelphia,  nor  ever  heard  of  since  the  above  letter  was  written, 
is  strong  presumptive  proc  f  that  it  was  not  a  portrait  of  William  Penn. — Ed. 
36 


402       PROPOSAL    TO   SETTLE   IN  ENGLAND.   [Mt.  54. 

to  try  their  luck  another  campaign,  and  exert  all  their 
remaining  strength,  in  hopes  of  treating  with  Hanover  in 
their  hands.  If  this  should  be  the  case,  possibly  most  of 
our  advantages  may  be  given  up  again  at  the  treaty,  and 
some  among  our  great  men  begin  already  to  prepare  the 
minds  of  people  for  this,  by  discoursing  that  to  keep 
Canada  would  draw  on  us  the  envy  of  other  powers,  and 
occasion  a  confederation  against  us ;  that  the  country  is  too 
large  for  us  to  people ;  not  worth  possessing,  and  the  like. 
These  notions  I  am  every  day  and  every  hour  combating, 
and  I  think  not  without  some  success.  The  event  God 
only  knows.  The  argument  that  seems  to  have  the  prin 
cipal  weight  is,  that,  in  case  of  another  war,  if  we  keep 
possession  of  Canada,  the  nation  will  save  two  or  three 
millions  a  year,  now  spent  in  defending  the  American  colo- 
nies, and  be  so  much  the  stronger  in  Europe,  by  the  addi- 
tion of  the  troops  now  employed  on  that  side  of  the  water. 
To  this  I  add,  that  the  colonies  would  thrive  and  increase 
in  a  much  greater  degree,  and  that  a  vast  additional  demand 
would  arise  for  British  manufactures,  to  supply  so  great  an 
extent  of  Indian  country ;  with  many  other  topics,  which 
I  urge  occasionally  according  to  the  company  I  happen 
into,  or  the  persons  I  address.  And,  on  the  whole,  I  flatter 
myself  that  my  being  here  at  this  time  may  be  of  some 
service  to  the  general  interest  of  America. 

To  his  wife,  I  received  the  enclosed  some  time  since  from 
don6  5  March"  ^r*  Strahan.  I  afterwards  spent  an  evening 
1760.  in  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject.     He 

was  very  urgent  with  me  to  stay  in  England,  and  prevail 
with  you  to  remove  hither  with  Sally.  He  proposed  several 
advantageous  schemes  to  me,  which  appeared  reasonably 


Mr.  54.]  URGED    TO    QUIT  AMERICA.  403 

founded.  His  family  is  a  very  agreeable  one ;  Mrs.  Strahan 
a  sensible  and  good  woman,  the  children  of  amiable  char- 
acters, and  particularly  the  young  man,  who  is  sober,  inge- 
nious, and  industrious,  and  a  desirable  person.  In  point  of 
circumstances  there  can  be  no  objection  ;  Mr.  Strahan  being 
in  such  a  way  as  to  lay  up  a  thousand  pounds  every  year 
from  the  profits  of  his  business,  after  maintaining  his  family 
and  paying  all  charges.  I  gave  him,  however,  two  reasons 
why  I  could  not  think  of  removing  hither ;  one,  my  affec- 
tion to  Pennsylvania,  and  long  established  friendships  and 
other  connexions  there ;  the  other,  your  invincible  aversion 
to  crossing  the  seas.  And  without  removing  hither,  I  could 
not  think  of  parting  with  my  daughter  to  such  a  distance.  I 
thanked  him  for  the  regard  shown  to  us  in  the  proposal,  but 
gave  him  no  expectation  that  I  should  forward  the  letters.  So 
you  are  at  liberty  to  answer  or  not,  just  as  you  think  proper. 
Let  me,  however,  know  your  sentiments.  You  need  not 
deliver  the  letter  to  Sally,  if  you  do  not  think  it  proper. 

ToMarySte-        I   embrace,  most   gladly,  my  dear  friend's 

venson,  dated  ,     c  ,.      ,   c  c  .  1 

Craven  st  proposal  of  a  subject  for  our  future  correspond - 
London,  1  ence  ;  not  only  as  it  will  occasion  my  hearing 
from  her  more  frequently,  but  as  it  will  lay  me 
under  a  necessity  of  improving  my  own  knowledge,  that  I 
may  be  better  able  to  assist  in  her  improvement.  I  only 
fear  my  necessary  business  and  journeys,  with  the  natural 
indolence  of  an  old  man,  will  make  me  too  unpunctual  a 
correspondent.  For  this  I  must  hope  some  indulgence. 
But  why  will  you,  by  the  cultivation  of  your  mind,  make 
yourself  still  more  amiable,  and  a  more  desirable  companion 
for  a  man  of  understanding,  when  you  are  determined,  as  I 
hear,  to  live  single?     If  we  enter,  as  you   propose,  into 


404  ADVICE  ABOUT  READING.  [Mr.  54. 

moral  as  well  as  natural  philosophy,  I  fancy,  when  I  have 
established  my  authority  as  a  tutor,  I  shall  take  upon  me  to 
lecture  you  a  little  on  the  chapter  of  duty. 

But,  to  be  serious,  our  easiest  mode  of  proceeding  I  think 
will  be,  for  you  to  read  some  books  that  I  may  recommend  to 
you  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  your  reading,  whatever  occurs, 
that  you  do  not  thoroughly  apprehend,  or  that  you  clearly 
conceive  and  find  pleasure  in,  may  occasion  either  some 
questions  for  further  information,  or  some  observations  that 
show  how  far  you  are  satisfied  and  pleased  with  your  author. 
These  will  furnish  matter  for  your  letters  to  me,  and,  in 
consequence,  mine  also  to  you. 

Let  me  know,  then,  what  books  you  have  already  perused 
on  the  subject  intended,  that  I  may  the  better  judge  what 
to  advise  for  your  next  reading.  And  believe  me  ever,  my 
dear  good  girl,  your  affectionate  friend  and  servant. 

To  Lord  I   have   endeavored   to   comply  with   your 

London,  *  %  request  in  writing  something  on  the  present 
May,  1760.  situation  of  our  affairs  in  America,  in  order  to 
give  more  correct  notions  of  the  British  interest  with  regard 
to  the  colonies,  than  those  I  found  many  sensible  men 
possessed  of.  Enclosed  you  have  the  production,  such  as  it 
is.  I  wish  it  may,  in  any  degree,  be  of  service  to  the  public. 
I  shall  at  least  hope  this  from  it,  for  my  own  part,  that  you 
will  consider  it  as  a  letter  from  me  to  you,  and  take  its 
length  as  some  excuse  for  being  so  long  a  coming.* 

I  am  now  reading  with  great  pleasure  and  improvement 
your  excellent  work,  "The  Principles  of  Equity."     It  will 


*  This  was  probably  the  tract  entitled  "  The  Interest  of  Great  Britain 
Considered,"  which  was  first  published  in  1760. — Ed. 


A/r.  54.]     PARABLE  AGAINST  PERSECUTION.  405 

be  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the  judges  in  our  colonies, 
not  only  in  those  which  have  courts  of  chancery,  but  also 
in  those  which,  having  no  such  courts,  are  obliged  to  mix 
equity  with  common  law.  It  will  be  of  more  service  to  the 
colony  judges,  as  few  of  them  have  been  bred  to  the  law. 
I  have  sent  a  book  to  a  particular  friend,  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Pennsylvania. 

I  will  shortly  send  you  a  copy  of  the  "  Chapter"*  you 
are  pleased  to  mention  in  so  obliging  a  manner ;  and  shall 
be  extremely  obliged  in  receiving  a  copy  of  the  collection 
of  "Maxims  for  the  Conduct  of  Life,"  which  you  are  pre- 
paring for  the  use  of  your  children.  I  purpose  likewise  a 
little  work  for  the  benefit  of  youth,  to  be  called  "The  Art 
of  Virtue. "f  From  the  title  I  think  you  will  hardly  con- 
jecture what  the  nature  of  such  a  book  may  be.  I  must 
therefore  explain  it  a  little.  Many  people  lead  bad  lives 
that  would  gladly  lead  good  ones,  but  do  not  know  how  to 
make  the  change.  They  have  frequently  resolved  and  en- 
deavoured it ;  but  in  vain,  because  their  endeavours  have 
not  been   properly  conducted.     To  expect   people  to  be 


*  Franklin  here  refers  to  a  parable  against  persecution  which  he  had 
recited  to  Lord  Kames,  and  of  which  afterwards,  at  his  lordship's  request, 
he  sent  him  a  copy.  An  imperfect  version  of  the  piece  appeared  in  Lord 
Karnes's  "  Sketches  of  the  History  of  Man,"  some  fourteen  years  later,  with 
the  following  declaration  by  the  author : 

"  It  was  communicated  to  me  by  Dr.  Franklin,  of  Philadelphia,  a  man 
who  makes  a  great  figure  in  the  learned  world,  and  who  would  make  a 
still  greater  figure  for  benevolence  and  candor,  were  virtue  as  much  regarded 
in  this  declining  age  as  knowledge." 

The  parable  was  of  Persian  origin,  so  far  as  we  know,  though  Franklin 
doubtless  found  it  in  the  "  Liberty  of  Prophesying"  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  who 
says  it  was  taken  from  the  "  Jews'  books." — ED. 

f  It  does  not  appear  that  this  intention  was  ever  fulfilled.    Some  remarks 
on  the  subject  will  be  found  on  pp.  241-244. — Ed. 
36* 


406  "ART  OF   VIRTUE:'  [Mr.  54. 

good,  to  be  just,  to  be  temperate,  &c,  without  showing 
them  how  they  should  become  so,  seems  like  the  ineffectual 
charity  mentioned  by  the  apostle,  which  consisted  in  saying 
to  the  hungry,  the  cold,  and  the  naked,  "Be  ye  fed,  be  ye 
warmed,  be  ye  clothed,"  without  showing  them  how  they 
should  get  food,  fire,  or  clothing. 

Most  people  have  naturally  some  virtues,  but  none  have 
naturally  all  the  virtues.  To  acquire  those  that  are  wanting, 
and  secure  what  we  acquire,  as  well  as  those  we  have  natu- 
rally, is  the  subject  of  an  art.  It  is  as  properly  an  art  as 
painting,  navigation,  or  architecture.  If  a  man  would 
become  a  painter,  navigator,  or  architect,  it  is  not  enough 
that  he  is  advised  to  be  one,  that  he  is  convinced  by  the 
arguments  of  his  adviser,  that  it  would  be  for  his  advantage 
to  be  one,  and  that  he  resolves  to  be  one,  but  he  must  also 
be  taught  the  principles  of  the  art,  be  shown  all  the  methods 
of  working,  and  how  to  acquire  the  habits  of  using  properly 
all  the  instruments;  and  thus  regularly  and  gradually  he 
arrives,  by  practice,  at  some  perfection  in  the  art.  If  he 
does  not  proceed  thus,  he  is  apt  to  meet  with  difficulties 
that  discourage  him,  and  make  him  drop  the  pursuit. 

My  "Art  of  Virtue"  has  also  its  instruments,  and  teaches 
the  manner  of  using  them.  Christians  are  directed  to  have 
faith  in  Christ,  as  the  effectual  means  of  obtaining  the 
change  they  desire.  It  may,  when  sufficiently  strong,  be 
effectual  with  many ;  for  a  full  opinion,  that  a  teacher  is 
infinitely  wise,  good,  and  powerful,  and  that  he  will  cer- 
tainly reward  and  punish  the  obedient  and  disobedient, 
must  give  great  weight  to  his  precepts,  and  make  them 
much  more  attended  to  by  his  disciples.  But  many  have 
this  faith  in  so  weak  a  degree,  that  it  does  not  produce  the 
effect      Our  "Art  of  Virtue"  may,  therefore,  -be  of  great 


Mr.  54.]  ADVICE  ABOUT  READING.  407 

service  to  those  whose  faith  is  unhappily  not  so  strong,  and 
may  come  in  aid  of  its  weakness.  Such  as  are  naturally 
well  disposed,  and  have  been  so  carefully  educated,  as  that 
good  habits  have  been  early  established,  and  bad  ones  pre- 
vented, have  less  need  of  this  art  ;  but  all  may  be  more  or 
less  benefited  by  it.  It  is,  in  short,  to  be  adapted  for 
universal  use.  I  imagine  what  I  have  now  been  writing 
will  seem  to  savour  of  great  presumption.  I  must  there- 
fore speedily  finish  my  little  piece,  and  communicate  the 
manuscript  to  you,  that  you  may  judge  whether  it  is  possible 
to  make  good  such  pretensions.  I  shall  at  the  same  time 
hope  for  the  benefit  of  your  corrections. 

To  Mary  ste-         I  send  my  good  girl  the  books  I  mentioned 

craven'  &st  to  ner  ^ast  nignt-  I  beg  ner  to  accept  of  them 
16  May,  1760.  35  a  small  mark  of  my  esteem  and  friendship. 
They  are  written  in  the  familiar,  easy  manner,  for  which  the 
French  are  so  remarkable;  and  afford  a  good  deal  of  phil- 
osophic and  practical  knowledge,  unembarrassed  with  the 
dry  mathematics  used  by  more  exact  reasoners,  but  which 
are  apt  to  discourage  young  beginners. 

I  would  advise  you  to  read  with  a  pen  in  your  hand,  and 
enter  in  a  little  book  short  hints  of  what  you  find  that  is 
curious,  or  that  may  be  useful;  for  this  will  be  the  best 
method  of  imprinting  such  particulars  in  your  memory, 
where  they  will  be  ready,  either  for  practice  on  some  future 
occasion,  if  they  are  matters  of  utility,  or  at  least  to  adorn 
and  improve  your  conversation,  if  they  are  rather  points  of 
curiosity.  And  as  many  of  the  terms  of  science  are  such, 
as  you  cannot  have  met  with  in  your  common  reading,  and 
may  therefore  be  unacquainted  with,  I  think  it  would  be 
well  for  you  to  have  a  good  dictionary  at  hand,  to  consult 


408  FAMILY  DETAILS.  [Mr.  54. 

immediately  when  you  meet  with  a  word  you  do  not  com- 
prehend the  precise  meaning  of.  This  may  at  first  seem 
troublesome  and  interrupting;  but  it  is  a  trouble  that  will 
daily  diminish,  as  you  will  daily  find  less  and  less  occasion 
for  your  dictionary,  as  you  become  more  acquainted  with 
the  terms;  and  in  the  mean  time  you  will  read  with  more 
satisfaction,  because  with  more  understanding. 

When  any  point  occurs,  in  which  you  would  be  glad  to 
have  farther  information  than  your  book  affords  you,  I  beg 
you  would  not  in  the  least  apprehend,  that  I  should  think 
it  a  trouble  to  receive  and  answer  your  questions.  It  will 
be  a  pleasure,  and  no  trouble.  For  though  I  may  not  be 
able,  out  of  my  own  little  stock  of  knowledge,  to  afford 
you  what  you  require,  I  can  easily  direct  you  to  the  books, 
where  it  may  most  readily  be  found. 

To  his  wife,         I  am  concerned  that  so  much  trouble  should 

dated       Lon-      «  1        •  n 

don  27  June  be  glven  vou  "7  10-le  reports  concerning  me. 
1760.  Be  satisfied,  my  dear,  that  while  I  have  my 

senses,  and  God  vouchsafes  me  his  protection,  I  shall  do 
nothing  unworthy  the  character  of  an  honest  man,  and  one 
that  loves  his  family.* 

I  have  not  yet  seen  Mr.  Beatty,  nor  do  I  know  where  to 
write  to  him.   He  forwarded  your  letter  to  me  from  Ireland. 


*  On  a  later  occasion  he  wrote  to  his  wife :  "  Let  no  one  make  you  uneasy 
with  their  idle  or  malicious  scribblings,  but  enjoy  yourself  and  friends,  and 
the  comforts  of  life,  that  God  has  bestowed  on  you,  with  a  cheerful  heart. 
I  am  glad  their  pamphlets  give  you  so  little  concern.  I  make  no  other 
answer  to  them  at  present,  than  what  appears  in  the  seal  of  this  letter."  The 
device  on  the  seal  was  a  dove,  standing  on  a  coiled  serpent  in  the  act  of 
raising  its  head  and  darting  out  its  tongue,  surrounded  with  the  motto,  In- 
nocence surmont  tout.  This  was  not  his  usual  seal,  but  one  adopted  for  the 
occasion. — S. 


JEt.  54.]  FAMIL  Y  DE  TAILS.  409 

The  paragraph  of  your  letter,  inserted  in  the  papers,  related 
to  the  negro  school.  I  gave  it  to  the  gentlemen  concerned, 
as  it  was  a  testimony  in  favor  of  their  pious  design.  But  I 
did  not  expect  they  would  print  it  with  your  name.  They 
have  since  chosen  me  one  of  the  Society,  and  I  am  at 
present  chairman  for  the  current  year.  I  enclose  you  an 
account  of  their  proceedings.* 

I  did  not  receive  the  "Prospect  of  Quebec,"  which  you 
mention  that  you  sent  me.  Peter  continues  with  me,  and 
behaves  as  well  as  I  can  expect,  in  a  country  where  there 
are  many  occasions  of  spoiling  servants,  if  they  are  ever  so 
good.  He  has  as  few  faults  as  most  of  them,  and  I  see 
with  only  one  eye,  and  hear  only  with  one  ear;  so  we  rub 
on  pretty  comfortably.  King,  that  you  inquire  after,  is 
not  with  us.  He  ran  away  from  our  house  near  two  years 
ago,  while  we  were  absent  in  the  country;  but  was  soon 
found  in  Suffolk,  where  he  had  been  taken  into  the  service 
of  a  lady,  that  was  very  fond  of  the  merit  of  making  him 
a  Christian,  and  contributing  to  his  education  and  improve- 
ment. As  he  was  of  little  use,  and  often  in  mischief,  Billy 
consented  to  her  keeping  him  while  we  stay  in  England. 
So  the  lady  sent  him  to  school,  has  him  taught  to  read  and 
write,  to  play  on  the  violin  and  French  horn,  with  some 
other  accomplishments  more  useful  in  a  servant.  Whether 
she  will  finally  be  willing  to  part  with  him,  or  persuade 
Billy  to  sell  him  to  her,  I  know  not.  In  the  mean  time  he 
is  no  expense  to  us. 

The  accounts  you  give  me  of  the  marriages  of  our  friends 
are  very  agreeable.    I  love  to  hear  of  every  thing  that  tends 


*  This  relates  to  a  scheme,  which  had  been  set  on  foot  by  the  philanthropic 
Dr.  Thos.  Bray,  for  the  conversion  of  negroes  in  the  British  plantations. — Ed. 


410     EXPENSIVENESS   OF  ENGLISH   WIVES.    [Mr.  54. 

to  increase  the  number  of  good  people.  You  cannot  con- 
ceive how  shamefully  the  mode  here  is  a  single  life.  One 
can  scarce  be  in  the  company  of  a  dozen  men  of  circum- 
stance and  fortune,  but  what  it  is  odds  that  you  find  on 
inquiry  eleven  of  them  are  single.  The  great  complaint  is 
the  excessive  expensiveness  of  English  wives. 

I  am  extremely  concerned  with  you  at  the  misfortune  of 
our  friend  Mr.  Griffith.  How  could  it  possibly  happen? 
It  was  a  terrible  fire  that  of  Boston.  I  shall  contribute 
here  towards  the  relief  of  the  sufferers.  Our  relations  have 
escaped,  I  believe,  generally;  but  some  of  my  particular 
friends  must  have  suffered  greatly. 

Poor  David  Edwards  died  this  day  week,  of  a  consump- 
tion. I  had  a  letter  from  a  friend  of  his,  acquainting  me 
that  he  had  been  long  ill,  and  incapable  of  doing  his  busi- 
ness, and  was  at  board  in  the  country.  I  feared  he  might 
be  in  straits,  as  he  never  was  prudent  enough  to  lay  up 
any  thing.  So  I  wrote  to  him  immediately,  that,  if  he  had 
occasion,  he  might  draw  on  me  for  five  guineas.  But  he 
died  before  my  letter  got  to  hand.  I  hear  the  woman,  at 
whose  house  he  long  lodged  and  boarded,  has  buried  him 
and  taken  all  he  left,  which  could  not  be  much,  and  there 
are  some  small  debts  unpaid. 

To       David         I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  favorable  senti- 

Hume,  dated  r  ±i 

Coventr  27  ments  vou  express  of  the  pieces  sent  to  you ; 
Sept.,  1760.  though  the  volume  relating  to  our  Pennsylvania 
affairs*  was  not  written  by  me,  nor  any  part  of  it,  except  the 


*  The  treatise  here  mentioned  is  probably  the  "  Historical  Review  of  the 
Constitution  and  Government  of  Pennsylvania."  Doubts  were  for  a  long 
time  entertained  as  to  the  authorship  of  this  paper,  which,  in  this  letter  to 
Mr.  Hume,  were  finally  put  to  rest,  though  there  is  abundant  reason  for 


/Et.  54-]  "JEALOUSY  OF  COMMERCE."  ^n 

remarks  on  the  Proprietor's  estimate  of  his  estate,  and  some 
of  the  inserted  messages  and  reports  of  the  Assembly,  which 
I  wrote  when  at  home,  as  a  member  of  committees  appointed 
by  the  House  for  that  service.  The  rest  was  by  another 
hand. 

But  though  I  am  satisfied  by  what  you  say,  that  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  was  hearty  in  the  scheme  of  the  expedition,  I 
am  not  so  clear  that  others  in  the  administration  were 
equally  in  earnest  in  that  matter.  It  is  certain,  that,  after 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  first  orders  to  raise  troops  in  the 
colonies,  and  promise  to  send  over  commissions  to  the 
officers,  with  arms  and  clothing  for  the  men,  we  never  had 
another  syllable  from  him  for  eighteen  months;  during  all 
which  time  the  army  lay  idle  at  Albany  for  want  of  orders 
and  necessaries ;  and  it  began  to  be  thought  at  last,  that, 
if  an  expedition  had  ever  been  intended,  the  first  design 
and  the  orders  given  must,  through  the  multiplicity  of 
business  here  at  home,  have  been  quite  forgotten.* 

1  am  not  a  little  pleased  to  hear  of  your  change  of  senti- 
ments in  some  particulars  relating  to  America;  because  I 
think  it  of  importance  to  our  general  welfare,  that  the 
people  of  this  nation  should  have  right  notions  of  us,  and 
I  know  no  one,  that  has  it  more  in  his  power  to  rectify 
their  notions  than  Mr.  Hume.  I  have  lately  read  with 
great  pleasure,  as  I  do  every  thing  of  yours,  the  excellent 
Essay  on  the  "Jealousy  of  Commerce."  I  think  it  cannot 
but  have  a  good  effect  in  promoting  a  certain  interest,  too 


believing  that  it  was  written  from  materials  furnished  by  him,  that  he  revised 
it  for  the  press,  and  contributed  largely  to  its  circulation.     It  is  composed 
mainly  of  documents,  and  possesses  little  interest  for  the  reader  of  to-day; 
conclusive  proof  that  Franklin  had  little  to  do  with  its  composition. — ED. 
*  This  was  the  expedition  projected  against  Canada  in  the  year  1746.  — S. 


412  NEOLO GISMS.  [>Et.  5 4 

little  thought  of  by  selfish  man,  and  scarcely  ever  men- 
tioned, so  that  we  hardly  have  a  name  for  it ;  I  mean  the 
interest  of  humanity,  or  common  good  of  mankind.  But  I 
hope,  particularly  from  that  Essay,  an  abatement  of  the 
jealousy,  that  reigns  here,  of  the  commerce  of  the  colonies, 
at  least  so  far  as  such  abatement  may  be  reasonable. 

I  thank  you  for  your  friendly  admonition  relating  to 
some  unusual  words  in  the  pamphlet.  It  will  be  of  service 
to  me.  The  "pejorate"  and  the  "colonize"  since  they 
are  not  in  common  use  here,  I  give  up  as  bad ;  for  certainly 
in  writings  intended  for  persuasion  and  for  general  informa- 
tion, one  cannot  be  too  clear;  and  every  expression  in  the 
least  obscure  is  a  fault.  The  "unshakeable"  too,  though 
clear,  I  give  up  as  rather  low.  The  introducing  new  words, 
where  we  are  already  possessed  of  old  ones  sufficiently  ex- 
pressive, I  confess  must  be  generally  wrong,  as  it  tends  to 
change  the  language;  yet,  at  the  same  time,  I  cannot  but 
wish  the  usage  of  our  tongue  permitted  making  new  words, 
when  we  want  them,  by  composition  of  old  ones  whose 
meanings  are  already  well  understood.  The  German  allows 
of  it,  and  it  is  a  common  practice  with  their  writers.  Many 
of  our  present  English  words  were  originally  so  made;  and 
many  of  the  Latin  words.  In  point  of  clearness,  such 
compound  words  would  have  the  advantage  of  any  we  can 
borrow  from  the  ancient  or  from  foreign  languages.  For 
instance,  the  word  inaccessible,  though  long  in  use  among 
us,  is  not  yet,  I  dare  say,  so  universally  understood  by  our 
people,  as  the  word  uncomeatable  would  immediately  be, 
which  we  are  not  allowed  to  write.  But  I  hope  with  you, 
that  we  shall  always  in  America  make  the  best  English  of 
this  Island  our  standard,  and  I  believe  it  will  be  so.  I 
assure  you  it  often  gives  me  pleasure  to  reflect,  how  greatly 


*/r.  54.]     BASKERVILLE' S  PRINTING    TYPES.  413 

f 
the  audience  (if  I  may  so  term  it)  of  a  good  English  writei 

will,  in  another  century  or  two,  be  increased  by  the  increase 

of  English  people  in  our  colonies.* 

My  son  presents  his  respects  with  mine  to  you  and  Dr. 

Monro.     We  received  your  printed  circular  letter  to  the 

members  of  the  Society,  f  and  purpose  some  time   next 

winter  to  send  each  of  us  a  little  philosophical  essay. 

To  John  Bas-        Let  me  give  you  a  pleasant  instance  of  the 

kerville,^:   da-  .     ,.  .  .    .        , 

ted  craven  PreJudice  some  have  entertained  against  your 
St.,  1760.  work.    Soon  after  I  returned,  discoursing  with 

a  gentleman  concerning  the  artists  of  Birmingham,  he  said 
you  would  be  a  means  of  blinding  all  the  readers  in  the 
nation ;  for  the  strokes  of  your  letters,  being  too  thin  and 
narrow,  hurt  the  eye,  and  he  could  never  read  a  line  of 
them  without  pain.  "  I  thought,"  said  I,  "  you  were  going 
to  complain  of  the  gloss  of  the  paper,  which  some  object 
to."     "  No,  no,"  said  he,  "I  have  heard  that  mentioned, 


*  Hume  was  so  struck  with  this  reflection  that  he  is  said  to  have  used  it 
to  persuade  Gibbon  to  write  his  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire" 
in  English.     This  letter  may  be  found  in  the  Memoirs  of  Gibbon. — Ed. 

f  A  Philosophical  Society  lately  established  at  Edinburgh. — Ed. 

%  John  Baskerville,  whose  contributions  to  the  art  of  printing  made  him 
famous,  but  not  rich,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Franklin,  dated  Birmingham,  September  7th,  1767. 
Dr.  Franklin  was  at  that  time  on  a  visit  to  Paris.  "  After  having  obtained 
the  reputation  of  excelling  in  the  most  useful  art  known  to  mankind,  of 
which  I  have  your  testimony,  is  it  not  to  the  last  degree  provoking,  that  I 
cannot  get  even  bread  by  it?  I  must  starve,  had  I  no  other  dependence." 
He  retired  from  business  in  1765,  but  the  Baskerville  Press  continued 
to  be  highly  esteemed  in  Birmingham  until  the  Priestley  riots  of  1791, 
when  the  mob  destroyed  the  printing  office.  Baskerville  died  on  the  8th 
of  January,  1775.  In  the  year  1779  his  types  were  purchased  by  a  literary 
society  in  Paris  for  ^3700,  and  were  employed  in  printing  Beaumarchais'l 
edition  of  Voltaire. — E'D. 

37  T 


414  BASKERVILLE'S  PRINTING    TYPES.       [Mr.  54. 

but  it  is  not  that ;  it  is  in  the  form  and  cut  of  the  letters 
themselves ;  they  have  not  that  height  and  thickness  of  the 
stroke,  which  make  the  common  printing  so  much  the 
more  comfortable  to  the  eye  "  You  see  this  gentleman 
was  a  connoisseur.  In  vain  I  endeavoured  to  support  youi 
character  against  the  charge ;  he  knew  what  he  felt,  and 
could  see  the  reason  of  it,  and  several  other  gentlemen 
among  his  friends  had  made  the  same  observation,  &c. 

Yesterday  he  called  to  visit  me,  when,  mischievously  bent 
to  try  his  judgment,  I  stepped  into  my  closet,  tore  off  the 
top  of  Mr.  Caslon's  specimen,  and  produced  it  to  him  as 
yours,  brought  with  me  from  Birmingham  ;  saying,  I  had 
been  examining  it,  since  he  spoke  to  me,  and  could  not  for 
my  life  perceive  the  disproportion  he  mentioned,  desiring 
him  to  point  it  out  to  me.  He  readily  undertook  it,  and 
went  over  the  several  founts,  showing  me  everywhere  what 
he  thought  instances  of  that  disproportion ;  and  declared, 
that  he  could  not  then  read  the  specimen,  without  feeling 
very  strongly  the  pain  he  had  mentioned  to  me.  I  spared 
him  that  time  the  confusion  of  being  told,  that  these  were 
the  types  he  had  been  reading  all  his  life,  with  so  much 
ease  to  his  eyes;  the  types  his  adored  Newton  is  printed 
with,  on  which  he  has  pored  not  a  little;  nay,  the  very 
types  his  own  book  is  printed  with,  (for  he  is  himself  an 
author,)  and  yet  never  discovered  this  painful  disproportion 
in  them,  till  he  thought  they  were  yours. 


To  the  printer        I  met  lately  with  an  old  quarto  book  on  a 

of  theLondc 
Chronicle.* 


1    stall,  the  titlepage  and  the  author's  name  want 


ing,  but  containing  discourses,  addressed    to 


*  In  June  of  this  year,  and  after  a  delay  of  three  years,  Franklin  succeeded 
in  bringing  his  controversy  with  the  proprietaries  to  a  close,  and  upon  terms 


JEt.  54.]   ON  DISPOSING  AN  ENEMY  TO   PEACE.     4^ 

some  king  of  Spain,  extolling  the  greatness  of  mon- 
archy, translated  into  English,  and  said  in  the  last  leaf 
to  be  printed  at  London  by  Bonham  Norton  and  John 
Bill,  "Printers  to  the  King's  most  excellent  Majestie, 
MDCXXIX."  The  author  appears  to  have  been  a  Jesuit, 
for,  speaking  of  that  order  in  two  places,  he  calls  it  our 
Society.  Give  me  leave  to  communicate  to  the  public  a 
chapter  of  it,  so  apropos  to  our  present  situation,  (only 
changing  Spain  for  France,)  that  I  think  it  well  worth 
general  attention  and  observation,  as  it  discovers  the  arts 
of  our  enemies,  and  may  therefore  help  in  some  degree  to 
put  us  on  our  guard  against  them. 

What  effect  the  artifices  here  recommended  might  have 
had  in  the  times  when  our  author  wrote,  I  cannot  pretend 
to  say ;  but  I  believe,  the  present  age  being  more  enlight- 
ened and  our  people  better  acquainted  than  formerly  with 
our  true  national  interest,  such  arts  can  now  hardly  prove  so 
generally  successful ;  for  we  may  with  pleasure  observe,  and 
to  the  honor  of  the  British  people,  that,  though  writings 
and  discourses  like  these  have  lately  not  been  wanting,  yet 
few  in  any  of  the  classes  he  particularizes  seem  to  be  affected 


which  received  the  entire  approbation  of  his  constituents,  the  right  of  taxing 
the  proprietary  estates,  the  main  point  in  dispute,  being  fully  recognized. 
He  did  not,  however,  return  to  America  until  two  years  later,  occupying 
himself  with  the  advocacy  and  direction  of  the  expedition  against  Canada, 
the  annexation  of  which  to  the  empire  he  had  much  at  heart,  with  scientific 
studies  and  experiments,  and  with  the  manufacture  of  a  sound  public  opinion 
m  England  through  the  columns  of  the  periodical  press.  In  the  latter  cate- 
gory should  be  included  this  communication  to  the  London  Chronicle.  Its 
date  is  not  known,  but  "  its  contents,"  says  Mr.  Sparks,  "  show  it  to  have 
been  written  towards  the  close  of  the  French  war,  and  probably  in  1760, 
or  the  year  following.  Under  the  disguise  of  a  pretended  chapter  from  an 
old  book,  and  in  the  imitation  of  an  antiquated  style,  he  throws  out  hints 
suited  to  attract  attention  and  afford  amusement." — Ed. 


41 6     ON  DISPOSING  AN  ENEMY  TO   PEACE.  [JEt.  54. 

by  them,  but  all  ranks  and  degrees  among  us  persist  hitherto 
in  declaring  for  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  in  pre- 
ference to  an  unsafe,  disadvantageous,  or  dishonorable 
peace;  yet,  as  a  little  change  of  fortune  may  make  such 
writings  more  attended  to,  and  give  them  greater  weight,  I 
think  the  publication  of  this  piece,  as  it  shows  the  spring 
from  whence  these  scribblers  draw  their  poisoned  waters, 
may  be  of  public  utility.  A  Briton. 

"Chap.    XXXIV. 

"  On  the  Meanes  of  disposing  the  Enemie  to  Peace, 

"  Warres,  with  whatsoever  Prudence  undertaken  and  con- 
ducted, do  not  always  succeed.  Many  Thinges  out  of  Man's 
Power  to  governe,  such  as  Dearth  of  Provision,  Tempests, 
Pestilence,  and  the  like,  oftentimes  interfering  and  totally 
overthrowing  the  best  Designes ;  so  that  these  Enemies 
(England  and  Holland)  of  our  Monarchy  though  apparently 
at  first  the  weaker,  may  by  disastrous  Events  of  Warre,  on 
our  Parte,  become  the  stronger,  and  though  not  in  such 
degree,  as  to  endanger  the  Bodie  of  this  great  Kingdom, 
yet,  by  their  greater  Power  of  Shipping  and  Aptness  in  Sea 
Affairs,  to  be  able  to  cut  off,  if  I  may  so  speake,  some  of  its 
smaller  Limbs  and  Members  that  are  remote  therefrom  and 
not  easily  defended,  to  wit,  our  Islands  and  Colonies  in  the 
Indies  ;  thereby  however  depriving  the  Bodie  of  its  wonted 
Nourishment,  so  that  it  must  thenceforthe  languish  and  grow 
weake,  if  those  Parts  are  not  recovered,  which  possibly  may 
by  continuance  of  Warre  be  found  unlikelie  to  be  done.  And 
the  Enemie,  puffed  up  with  their  successes,  and  hoping  still 
for  more,  may  not  be  disposed  to  Peace  on  such  Termes  as 
would  be  suitable  to  the  honor  of  your  Majestic,  and  to  the 


/Et.  54.]   ON  DISPOSING  AN  ENEMY  TO  PEACE.     4x7 

Welfare  of  your  State  and  Subjects.  In  such  Case,  the 
following  Meanes  may  have  good  Effect. 

"  It  is  well  knowne,  that  these  Northerne  People,  though 
hardie  of  Bodie  and  bold  in  Fight,  be  nevertheless,  through 
overmuch  Eating  and  other  Intemperance,  slowe  of  Wit, 
and  dull  in  Understanding,  so  that  they  are  ofttimes  more 
easilie  to  be  governed  and  turned  by  Skill  than  by  Force. 
There  is  therefore  always  Hope,  that,  by  wise  Counsel  and 
dexterous  Management,  those  Advantages,  which  through 
crosse  Accidents  in  Warre  have  been  lost,  may  again  with 
Honour  be  recovered.  In  this  Place  I  shall  say  little  of  the 
Power  of  Money  secretly  distributed  among  Grandees,  or 
their  Friends  or  Paramours ;  that  Method  being  in  all  Ages 
known  and  practised.  If  the  minds  of  Enemies  can  be 
changed,  they  may  be  brought  to  grant  willingly  and  for 
nothing  what  much  Gold  would  scarcely  have  otherwise 
prevailed  to  obtaine.  Yet,  as  the  procuring  this  Change  is 
to  be  by  fitte  Instruments,  some  few  Doubloones  will  not 
unprofitably  be  distributed  by  your  Majestic  The  manner 
whereof  I  shall  now  briefely  recite. 

"In  those  Countries,  and  particularly  in  England,  there 
are  not  wanting  Menne  of  Learning,  ingenious  Speakers  and 
Writers,  who  are  nevertheless  in  lowe  Estate,  and  pinched 
by  Fortune.  These,  being  privately  gained  by  proper 
Meanes,  must  be  instructed  in  their  Sermons,  Discourses, 
Writings,  Poems,  and  Songs,  to  handle  and  specially  incul- 
cate Points  like  these  which  followe.  Let  them  magnifie 
the  Blessings  of  Peace,  and  enlarge  mightilie  thereon,  which 
is  not  unbecoming  grave  Divines  and  other  Christian 
Menne.  Let  them  expatiate  on  the  Miseries  of  Warre,  the 
Waste  of  Christian  Blood,  the  growing  Scarcitie  of  Labour- 
ers and  Workmen,  the  Dearness  of  all  foreign  Wares  and 
37* 


41 8      ON  DISPOSING  AN  ENEMY    TO   PEACE,  [JEt.  54. 

Merchandise,  the  Interruption  of  Commerce,  the  Captures 
of  Ships,  the  Increase  and  great  Burthen  of  Taxes.  Let 
them  represent  the  Warre  as  an  un measurable  Advantage  to 
Particulars,  and  to  Particulars  only,  (thereby  to  excite  envie 
against  those,  who  manage  and  provide  for  the  same,; 
while  so  prejudicial  to  the  Commonweale  and  People  in 
general.  Let  them  represent  the  Advantages  gained  against 
us,  as  trivial  and  of  little  Import ;  the  Places  taken  from  us, 
as  of  small  Trade  and  Produce,  inconvenient  for  Situation, 
unwholesome  for  Ay  re  and  Climate,  useless  to  their  Nations, 
and  greatlie  chargeable  to  keepe,  draining  the  home  Coun- 
trie  both  of  Menne  and  Money. 

"  Let  them  urge,  that,  if  a  Peace  be  forced  on  us,  and 
those  Places  withheld,  it  will  nourishe  secret  Griefe  and 
Malice  in  the  King  and  Grandees  of  Spain,  which  will  ere 
long  breake  forthe  in  new  Warres,  when  those  Places  may 
again  be  retaken,  without  the  Merit  and  Grace  of  restoring 
them  willingly  for  Peace'  Sake.  Let  them  represent  the 
making  or  Continuance  of  Warres,  from  views  of  Gaine,  to 
be  base  and  unworthy  a  brave  People,  as  those  made  from 
Views  of  Ambition  are  mad  and  wicked.  Let  them  insin- 
uate, that  the  Continuance  of  the  present  Warre,  on  their 
Parte,  hath  these  Ingredients  in  its  Nature.  Then  let  them 
magnifie  the  great  Power  of  your  Majestie,  and  the  Strength 
of  your  Kingdome,  the  inexhaustible  Wealthe  of  your  Mines, 
the  Greatness  of  your  Incomes,  and  thence  your  Abilitie  of 
continuing  the  Warre  ;  hinting  withal  the  new  Alliances  you 
may  possiblie  make;  at  the  same  time  setting  forth  the 
sincere  Disposition  you  have  for  Peace,  and  that  it  is  only 
a  Concerne  for  your  Honour,  and  the  Honour  of  your 
Realme,  that  induceth  you  to  insist  on  the  Restitution  of 
the  places  taken. 


&t.  54-]   ON  DISPOSING  AN  ENEMY  TO   PEACE.     419 

'*  If,  with  all  this,  they  shrewdly  intimate,  and  cause  it 
to  be  understood  by  artful  Wordes  and  believed,  that  their 
own  Prince  is  himself  in  Heart  for  Peace,  on  your  Majestie's 
Termes,  and  grieved  at  the  Obstinacy  and  Perverseness  of 
those  among  his  People,  who  are  for  continuing  the  Warre, 
a  marvellous  Effect  shall  by  these  Discourses  and  Writings 
be  produced;  and  a  wonderful  strong  Partie  shall  your 
Majestie  raise  among  your  Enemies  in  Favour  of  the  Peace 
you  desire;  insomuch  that  their  own  Princes  and  wisest 
Counsellours  will  in  a  Sorte  be  constrained  to  yeeld 
thereto.  For,  in  this  Warre  of  Wordes,  the  Avarice  and 
Ambition,  the  Hope  and  Fears,  and  all  the  Crowd  of 
humane  Passions  will  be  raised  and  put  in  Array  to  fight 
for  your  Interests  against  the  reall  and  substantiall  Interest 
of  their  own  Countries.  The  simple  and  undiscerning 
Many  shall  be  carried  away  by  the  Plausibilitie  and  Well- 
seeming  of  these  Discourses ;  and  the  Opinions  becoming 
more  popular,  all  the  Rich  Menne,  who  have  great  Posses- 
sions, and  fear  the  Continuance  of  Taxes,  and  hope  Peace 
will  end  them,  shall  be  emboldened  thereby  to  crie  aloud 
for  Peace;  their  Dependents,  who  are  many,  must  do  the 
same. 

"All  Merchaunts,  fearing  Loss  of  Ships  and  greater 
Burthens  on  Trade  by  further  Duties  and  Subsidies,  and 
hoping  greater  Profits  by  the  ending  of  the  Warre,  shall 
join  in  the  crie  for  Peace.  All  the  Usurers  and  Lenders  of 
Money  to  the  State,  who  on  a  Peace  hope  great  Profits  on 
their  Bargains,  and  fear  if  the  Warre  be  continued  the 
State  shall  become  bankeroute,  and  unable  to  pay  them; 
these,  who  have  no  small  Weighte,  shall  join  the  crie  for 
Peace.  All,  who  maligne  the  bold  Conductors  of  the 
Warre,    and   en  vie    the    Glorie    they   may   have   thereby 


420     ON  DISPOSING  AN  ENEMY  TO   PEACE.  [Mt.  54 

obtained;  these  shall  crie  aloud  for  Peace,  hoping,  that, 
when  the  Warre  shall  cease,  such  Menne  becoming  less 
necessarie  shall  be  more  lightly  esteemed,  and  themselves 
more  sought  after.  All  the  Officers  of  the  Enemie's  Armies 
and  Fleets,  who  wish  for  Repose  and  to  enjoy  their  Salaries 
or  Rewardes  in  Quietnesse,  and  without  Peril ;  these,  and 
their  Friends  and  Families,  who  desire  their  Safetie  and 
the  Solace  of  their  Societie,  shall  all  crie  for  Peace. 

"All  those,  who  be  timorous  by  Nature,  amongste  whom 
be  reckoned  Menne  of  Learning  that  lead  sedentarie  Lives, 
doing  little  Exercise  of  Bodie,  and  thence  obtaining  but 
few  and  weake  Spirits;  great  Statesmen,  whose  natural 
Spirits  be  exhausted  by  much  Thinking,  or  depressed  by 
overmuch  Feasting ;  together  with  all  Women,  whose  Power, 
weake  as  they  are,  is  not  a  little  amongste  the  Menne ;  these 
shall  incessantly  speake  for  Peace.  And  finally  all  Cour- 
tiers, who  suppose  they  conforme  thereby  to  the  Inclinations 
of  the  Prince,  {ad  Exemplum  Regis,  &c);  all  who  are  in 
Places,  fear  to  lose  them,  or  hope  for  better;  all  who  are 
out  of  Places,  and  hope  to  obtaine  them;  with  all  the 
worldly  minded  Clergy,  who  seeke  Preferment;  these,  with 
all  the  Weighte  of  their  Character  and  Influence,  shall  join 
the  crie  for  Peace;  till  it  becomes  one  universal  Clamour, 
and  no  Sound,  but  that  of  Peace,  Peace,  Peace,  shall  be 
heard  from  every  Quarter. 

"Then  shall  your  Majestie's  Termes  of  Peace  be  listened 
to  with  much  Readinesse,  the  Places  taken  from  you  be 
willingly  restored,  and  your  Kingdome,  recovering  its 
Strength,  shall  only  need  to  waite  a  few  Years  for  more 
favourable  Occasions,  when  the  Advantages  to  your  Power, 
proposed  by  beginning  the  Warre,  but  lost  by  its  bad 
Successe,  shall,  with  better  Fortune,  be  finally  obtained." 


/Et.  55-]  EDMUND    QUINCY.  42 1 

To  Hugh  You  teil  me  you  sometimes  visit  the  ancient 
ted  London"  Junto-  I  wish  you  would  do  it  oftener.  I 
26  Feb.,  1761.  know  they  all  love  and  respect  you,  and 
regret  your  absenting  yourself  so  much.  People  are  apt 
to  grow  strange,  and  not  understand  one  another  so  well, 
when  they  meet  but  seldom.  Since  we  have  held  that 
Club,  till  we  are  grown  gray  together,  let  us  hold  it  out  to 
the  end.  For  my  own  part,  I  find  I  love  company,  chat, 
a  laugh,  a  glass,  and  even  a  song,  as  well  as  ever;  and  at 
the  same  time  relish  better  than  I  used  to  do  the  grave 
observations  and  wise  sentences  of  old  men's  conversation; 
so  that  I  am  sure  the  Junto  will  be  still  as  agreeable  to  me 
as  it  ever  has  been.  I  therefore  hope  it  will  not  be  discon- 
tinued, as  long  as  we  are  able  to  crawl  together. 

To      josiah  I   received    your   very   obliging   letter   of 

ted1" London]  December  25th,  by  the  hand  of  your  valuable 
8  April,  1761.  son>  who  had  before  favored  me  now  and  then 
with  a  kind  visit.  I  congratulate  you  on  his  account,  as  I 
am  sure  you  must  have  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  in  him. 
His  ingenuous,  manly,  and  generous  behaviour,  in  a  trans- 
action here  with  the  Society  of  Arts,  gave  me  great  pleasure, 
as  it  was  much  to  his  reputation.* 

I  am  glad  my  weak  endeavours  for  our  common  interest 
were  acceptable  to  you  and  my  American  friends.  I  shall 
be  very  happy  indeed,  if  any  good  arises  from  them.  The 
people  in  power  here  do  now  seem  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  the  principles  I  have  inculcated,  and  incline  to  act  upon 


*  The  gentleman  here  mentioned  was  Edmund  Quincy,  eldest  son  ol 
Josiah  Quincy,  and  brother  of  the  distinguished  patriot,  Josiah  Quincy,  ]r. 
He  died  at  sea,  March  31st,  1768,  on  his  homeward  voyage  from  the  Wesf 
Indies,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five. — ED. 

T* 


422     PENN  PROPERTY  IN  PENNSYLVANIA,    {JEt.  55 

them ;  but  how  far  they  will  be  able  to  do  so  at  a  peace,  is 
still  uncertain,  especially  as  the  war  in  Germany  grows 
daily  less  favorable  to  us.  My  kinsman,  Williams,  was  but 
ill  informed  in  the  account  he  gave  you  of  my  situation 
here.  The  Assembly  voted  me  fifteen  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  when  I  left  Philadelphia,  to  defray  the  expense  of 
my  voyage,  and  negotiations  in  England,  since  which  they 
have  given  nothing  more,  though  I  have  been  here  near 
four  years.  They  will,  I  make  no  doubt,  on  winding  up 
the  affair,  do  what  is  just;  but  they  cannot  afford  to  be 
extravagant,  as  that  report  would  make  them. 

To  Edward  I  enclose  you  a  letter  from  your  kinsman, 
dated^Lon-     Mr.    Springet   Penn,   with   whom   I   had    no 

don,  9  May,  acquaintance  until  lately,  but  have  the  pleasure 
1761. 

to  find  him  a  very  sensible,   discreet   young 

man,  with  excellent  dispositions,  which  makes  me  the  more 

regret,   that  the   government  as  well  as  property  of  our 

province  should  pass  out  of  that  line.     There  has,  by  his 

account,  been  something  very  mysterious  in  the  conduct  of 

his  uncle,  Mr.  Thomas  Penn,  towards  him.     He  was  his 

guardian ;  but,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  educate  him  at 

home  under  his  eye  in  a  manner  becoming  the  elder  branch 

of  their  house,  has  from  his  infancy  been  endeavouring  to 

get  rid  of  him. 

He  first  proposed  sending  him  to  the  East  Indies.   When 

that  was  declined,   he  had   a  scheme  of  sending  him  to 

Russia ;  but,  the  young  gentleman's  mother  absolutely  re- 


*  An  eminent  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  There  was  a  family  connection 
between  his  ancestors  and  William  Penn's  first  wife,  whose  name  before  her 
marriage  was  Springet. — S. 


THOMAS   PENN. 

(From  Martin's  engraving  of  Davis's  picture,  painted  in  1751.) 


/Et.  55.]    PENN  PROPERTY  IN  PENNSYLVANIA.     423 

fusing  to  let  him  go  out  of  the  kingdom,  unless  to  Pennsyl- 
vania to  be  educated  in  the  college  there,  he  would  by  no 
means  hear  of  his  going  thither,  but  bound  him  an  appren- 
tice to  a  county  attorney  in  an  obscure  part  of  Sussex, 
which,  after  two  years'  stay,  finding  that  he  was  taught 
nothing  valuable,  nor  could  see  any  company  that  might 
improve  him,  he  left,  and  returned  to  his  mother,  with 
whom  he  has  been  ever  since,  much  neglected  by  his  uncle, 
except  lately  that  he  has  been  a  little  civil,  to  get  him  to- 
join  in  a  power  of  attorney  to  W.  Peters  and  R.  Hockley  > 
for  the  sale  of  some  Philadelphia  lots,  of  which  he  is  told 
three  undivided  fourth  parts  belong  to  him.  But  he  is  not 
shown  the  right  he  has  to  them ;  nor  has  he  any  plan  of 
their  situation,  by  which  he  may  be  advised  of  their  value; 
nor  was  he  told,  till  lately,  that  he  had  any  such  right, 
which  makes  him  suspect  that  he  may  have  other  rights  that 
are  concealed  from  him. 

In  some  letters  to  his  father's  eldest  brother,  Springet 
Penn,  whose  heir  he  is,  he  finds  that  Sir  William  Keith 
surveyed  for  him,  the  said  Springet,  a  manor  of  seventy-five 
thousand  acres  on  the  Susquehanna,  which  he  called  Sprin- 
getsbury,  and  would  be  glad  to  know  what  became  of  that 
survey,  and  whether  it  was  ever  conveyed  away.  By  search- 
ing the  records,  you  may  possibly  obtain  some  light  in  this 
and  other  land  affairs,  that  may  be  for  his  interest.  The 
good  inclinations  you  have  shown  towards  that  interest,  in 
a  letter  that  has  been  shown  to  me,  encourage  me  to  recom- 
mend this  matter  earnestly  to  your  care  and  prudence;  and 
the  more  privately  you  carry  on  your  inquiries,  for  the 
present,  the  better  it  will  be. 

His  uncle  has  lately  proposed  to  him  to  buy  of  him 
Pennsbury  manor  house,  with  one  thousand  acres  of  the 


424       TOUR   IN  HOLLAND   AND   FLANDERS.     [JEt.  55. 

land  near  the  house,  pretending  that  his  principal  reason 
for  doing  it  was  not  the  value  of  the  land,  but  an  inclina- 
tion he  had  to  possess  the  ancient  home  of  the  head  of  the 
family,  and  a  little  land  round  it  just  to  support  it.  You 
know  the  situation  of  that  manor,  and  can  judge  whether 
it  would  be  prudent  to  sell  the  part  proposed  from  the  rest, 
and  will  advise  him  concerning  it.  He  has  refused  to  treat 
about  it  at  present,  as  well  as  to  sign  the  power  of  attorney 
for  the  sale  of  the  city  lots;  upon  which  his  late  guardian 
has  brought  in  an  account  against  him,  and  demands  a 
debt  of  four  hundred  pounds,  which  he  urges  him  to  pay, 
for  that,  as  he  says,  he  very  much  wants  the  money,  which 
does  not  seem  to  look  well. 

Not  only  the  Land  Office  may  be  searched  for  warrants 
and  surveys  to  the  young  gentleman's  ancestors,  but  also 
the  Record  Office  for  deeds  of  gift  from  the  first  proprietor, 
and  other  subsequent  grants  or  conveyances.  I  may  tell 
you  in  confidence,  that  some  lawyers  are  of  opinion,  that 
the  government  was  not  legally  conveyed  from  the  eldest 
branch  to  others  of  the  family;  but  this  is  to  be  farther 
inquired  into,  and  at  present  it  is  not  to  be  talked  of. 

To  his  wife,  I  wrote  to  you  just  before  we  left  London, 
Utrecht  in  tnat  we  were  aDout  to  make  a  short  tour  to 
Holland,     14    Holland.     I  wrote  to  you  since  from  Antwerp 

Sep.,  1761. 

in  Flanders,  and  am  now  to  acquaint  you.  that, 
having  seen  almost  all  the  principal  places,  and  the  things 
worthy  of  notice,  in  those  two  countries,  we  are  on  our  re- 
turn to  London,  where  we  hope  to  be  next  Saturday  or 
Sunday,  that  we  may  not  miss  the  Coronation.  At  Am- 
sterdam I  met  with  Mr.  Crellius  and  his  daughter,  that  was 
formerly  Mrs.  Neigh.       Her  husband,  Dr.  Neigh,  died  in 


/Et.  55-]         KAMES'S^  ART  OF   THINKING."  425 

Carolina,  and  she  is  married  again  and  lives  very  well  in 
that  city.  They  treated  us  with  great  civility  and  kindness, 
and  will  be  so  obliging  as  to  forward  this  letter  to  you,  a 
ship  being  bound  to  New  York  from  Amsterdam.  We  are 
in  good  health,  and  have  had  a  great  deal  of  pleasure,  and 
received  a  good  deal  of  information  in  this  tour,  that  may 
be  useful  when  we  return  to  America. 

To  Miss  Mary  My  dear  Polly's  good  mamma  bids  me  write 
dated  from  two  or  three  lines,  by  way  of  apology  for  her 
craven  St.,  29    so  \ong  omitting  to  write.     She  acknowledges 

Oct.,  1761. 

the  receiving  of  two  agreeable  letters  from  her 
beloved  daughter,  enclosing  one  for  Sally  Franklin,  which 
was  much  approved  (excepting  one  word  only)  and  sent  as 
directed. 

The  reasons  of  her  not  writing  are,  that  her  time  all  day 
is  fully  taken  up,  during  the  daylight,  with  the  care  of  her 
family,  and — lying  abed  in  the  morning.  And  her  eyes 
are  so  bad,  that  she  cannot  see  to  write  in  the  evening — for 
playing  at  cards.  So  she  hopes  that  one,  who  is  all  good- 
ness, will  certainly  forgive  her,  when  her  excuses  are  so  sub- 
stantial. As  for  the  secretary,  he  has  not  a  word  to  say  in 
his  own  behalf,  though  full  as  great  an  offender,  but  throws 
himself  upon  mercy ;  pleading  only  that  he  is,  with  the 
greatest  esteem  and  sincerest  regard,  his  dear  Polly's  ever 
affectionate  friend. 

To  Lord  It  is  long  since  I  have  afforded  myself  the 

Kames,  dated         1  c  at* 

London,  pleasure  of  writing  to  you.    As  I  grow  in  years, 

Nov.,  1761.         J  find  J  grow  more  indolent,  and  more  apt  to 
procrastinate.    I  am  indeed  a  bad  correspondent ;  but  what 
avails  confession  without  amendment? 
38 


426  KAMES'S  "ART  OF   THINKING:1        [^lt.  55. 

When  I  come  so  late  with  my  thanks  for  your  truly  val- 
uable "Introduction  to  the  Art  of  Thinking,"  can  I  have 
any  right  to  inquire  after  your  "Elements  of  Criticism"? 
I  promise  myself  no  small  satisfaction  in  perusing  that  work 
also,  when  it  shall  appear.  By  the  first,  you  sow  thick  in 
the  young  mind  the  seeds  of  good  sense  concerning  moral 
conduct,  which,  as  they  grow  and  are  transplanted  into  life, 
must  greatly  adorn  the  character  and  promote  the  happiness 
of  the  person.  Permit  me  to  say,  that  I  think  I  never  saw 
more  solid,  useful  matter  contained  in  so  small  a  compass, 
and  yet  the  method  and  expression  so  clear,  that  the  brevity 
occasions  no  obscurity.  In  the  other  you  will,  by  alluring 
youth  to  the  practice  of  learning,  strengthen  their  judgment, 
improve  and  enlarge  their  understanding,  and  increase  their 
abilities  of  being  useful. 

To  produce  the  number  of  valuable  men  necessary  in  a 
nation  for  its  prosperity,  there  is  much  more  hope  from 
schemes  of  early  institution  than  from  reformation.  And,  as 
the  power  of  a  single  man  to  do  national  service,  in  partic- 
ular situations  of  influence,  is  often  immensely  great,  a  writer 
can  hardly  conceive  the  good  he  may  be  doing,  when  en- 
gaged in  works  of  this  kind.  I  cannot,  therefore,  but  wish 
you  would  publish  it  as  soon  as  your  other  important  em- 
ployments will  permit  you  to  give  it  the  finishing  hand. 

With  these  sentiments  you  will  not  doubt  my  being  serious 
in  the  intention  of  finishing  my  "Art  of  Virtue."  It  is  not 
a  mere  ideal  work.  I  planned  it  first  in  1732.  I  have  from 
time  to  time  made,  and  caused  to  be  made,  experiments  of 
the  method  with  success.  The  materials  have  been  growing 
ever  since.  The  form  only  is  now  to  be  given  ;  in  which  I 
purpose  employing  my  first  leisure,  after  my  return  to  my 
other  country. 


/Et.  55.]  KAMES'S  "PRINCIPLES   OE  EQUITY:'         427 

Your  invitation  to  make  another  jaunt  to  Scotland^ 
and  offer  to  meet  us  half  way  en  famille,  was  extremely 
obliging.  Certainly  I  never  spent  my  time  anywhere  more 
agreeably,  nor  have  I  been  in  any  place,  where  the  inhabit- 
ants and  their  conversation  left  such  lastingly  pleasing  im- 
pressions on  my  mind,  accompanied  with  the  strongest 
inclination  once  more  to  visit  that  hospitable,  friendly,  and 
sensible  people.  The  friendship  your  Lordship  in  particu- 
lar honors  me  with  would  not,  you  may  be  assured,  be 
among  the  least  of  my  inducements.  My  son  is  in  the  same 
sentiments  with  me.  But  we  doubt  we  cannot  have  that 
happiness,  as  we  are  to  return  to  America  early  in  the  next 
spring. 

I  am  ashamed  that  I  have  been  so  useless  a  member  to  youi 
Philosophical  Society,  since  they  did  me  the  honor  of  ad- 
mitting me.  But  I  think  it  will  not  be  long  before  they  hear 
from  me.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  see  Dr.  Cullen's  paper  on 
Fire.  When  may  we  expect  the  publication  ?  I  have,  as 
you  have  heard,  been  dealing  in  Smoke,  and  I  think  it  not 
difficult  to  manage,  when  one  is  once  acquainted  thoroughly 
with  the  principles.  But,  as  the  causes  are  various,  so  must 
the  remedies  be ;  and  one  cannot  prescribe  to  a  patient  at 
such  a  distance,  without  first  having  a  clear  state  of  its  case. 
If  you  should  ever  take  the  trouble  of  sending  me  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  circumstances  of  your  smoky  chimneys,  perhaps 
I  might  offer  something  useful  towards  their  cure.  But 
doubtless  you  have  doctors  equally  skilful  nearer  home. 

I  sent  one  of  your  "Principles  of  Equity"  as  a  present 
to  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  Pennsylvania,  where,  as  there  is  no  court 
of  chancery,  equity  is  often  mixed  with  the  common  law  in 
their  judgments.     I  since  received  two  letters  from  him.     In 


428  INDOLENCE    OF  AGE.  [jEt.  56. 

the  first,  when  he  had  read  but  part  of  the  work,  he  seemed 
to  think  something  wanting  in  it.  In  the  next,  he  calls  his 
first  sentiments  in  question.  I  think  I  will  send  you  the 
letters,  though  of  no  great  importance,  lest,  since  I  have 
mentioned  them,  you  should  think  his  remarks  might  be  of 
more  consequence.  You  can  return  them  when  any  friend 
is  coming  this  way. 

To  Miss  Mary  Your  good  mamma  has  just  been  saying  to 
datednS°Mon-  me>  ^at  sne  wonders  what  can  possibly  be  the 
day  morning,    reason  she  has  not  had  a  line  from  you  for  so 

8  March,  1762.      .  .  _   ,  ,  .    .    .       r 

long  a  time.  I  have  made  no  complaint  of 
that  kind,  being  conscious,  that,  by  not  writing  myself,  1 
have  forfeited  all  claim  to  such  favor,  though  no  letters 
give  me  more  pleasure,  and  I  often  wish  to  hear  from  you ; 
but  indolence  grows  upon  me  with  years,  and  writing  grows 
more  and  more  irksome  to  me. 

Have  you  finished  your  course  of  philosophy  ?  No  more 
doubts  to  be  resolved  ?  No  more  questions  to  ask  ?  If  so, 
you  may  now  be  at  full  leisure  to  improve  yourself  in  cards. 
Mamma  bids  me  tell  you  she  is  lately  much  afflicted  and 
half  a  cripple  with  the  rheumatism.  I  send  you  two  or 
three  French  Gazettes  de  Medecine,  which  I  have  just  re- 
ceived from  Paris,  wherein  is  a  translation  of  the  extract 
of  a  letter  you  copied  out  for  me.  You  will  return  them 
with  my  French  letters  on  Electricity,  when  you  have 
perused  them. 


To  his  wife,        I  condole  with  you  most  sincerely  on  the 
don,  <j4  death  of  our  good  mother,*  being  extremely 

March,  1762.      sensible  of  the  distress  and  affliction  it  must 


Mrs.  Read,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Franklin  — Ed 


.Et.  56.]      DEATH  OF  HIS    WIFE'S  MOTHER.  429 

have  thrown  you  into.  Your  comfort  will  be,  that  no  care 
was  wanting  on  your  part  towards  her,  and  that  she  had 
lived  as  long  as  this  life  could  afford  her  any  rational  enjoy- 
ment. It  is,  I  am  sure,  a  satisfaction  to  me,  that  I  cannot 
charge  myself  with  having  ever  failed  in  one  instance  of 
duty  and  respect  to  her  during  the  many  years  that  she 
railed  me  son.  The  circumstances  attending  her  death 
were  indeed  unhappy  in  some  respects ;  but  something  must 
bring  us  all  to  our  end,  and  few  of  us  shall  see  her  length 
of  days.  My  love  to  brother  John  Read,  and  sister  and 
cousin  Debby,  and  young  cousin  Johnny  Read,  and  let 
them  all  know,  that  I  sympathize  with  them  all  affectionately. 

This  I  write  in  haste,  Mr.  Beatty  having  just  called  on 
me  to  let  me  know,  that  he  is  about  to  set  out  for  Ports- 
mouth, in  order  to  sail  for  America.  I  am  finishing  all 
business  here  in  order  for  my  return,  which  will  either  be 
in  the  Virginia  fleet,  or  by  the  packet  of  May  next ;  I  am 
not  yet  determined  which.  I  pray  God  grant  us  a  happy 
meeting. 

We  are  all  well,  and  Billy  presents  his  duty.  Mr.  Strahan 
has  received  your  letter,  and  wonders  he  has  not  been  able 
to  persuade  you  to  come  over. 

To  David  It  is  no  small  pleasure  to  me  to  hear  from 

Hume,   dated  .»     =  .+  c 

London,  19  you  that  mY  PaPer  on  the  means  of  preserving 
May,  1762.  buildings  from  damage  by  lightning,  was  ac- 
ceptable to  the  Philosophical  Society.  Mr.  Russel's  pro- 
posals of  improvement  are  very  sensible  and  just.  A  leaden 
spout  or  pipe  is  undoubtedly  a  good  conductor,  so  far  as  it 
goes.  If  the  conductor  enters  the  ground  just  at  the  foun- 
dation, and  from  thence  is  carried  horizontally  to  some  well, 
or  to  a  distant  rod  driven  downright  into  the  earth,  I  would 
38* 


430  LIGHTNING   RODS.  [^Et.  56. 

then  propose,  that  the  part  under  the  ground  should  be  lead, 
as  less  liable  to  consume  with  rust  than  iron.  Because,  if 
the  conductor  near  the  foot  of  the  wall  should  be  wasted, 
the  lightning  might  act  on  the  moisture  of  the  earth,  and 
by  suddenly  rarefying  it  occasion  an  explosion,  that  may 
damage  the  foundation.  In  the  experiment  of  discharging 
my  large  case  of  electrical  bottles  through  a  piece  of  small 
glass  tube  filled  with  water,  the  suddenly  rarefied  water  has 
exploded  with  a  force  equal,  I  think,  to  that  of  so  much 
gunpowder ;  bursting  the  tube  into  many  pieces,  and  driv- 
ing them  with  violence  in  all  directions  and  to  all  parts  of 
the  room.  The  shivering  of  trees  into  small  splinters,  like 
a  broom,  is  probably  owing  to  this  rarefaction  of  the  sap 
in  the  longitudinal  pores,  or  capillary  pipes,  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  wood.  And  the  blowing  up  of  bricks  or  stones 
in  a  hearth,  rending  stones  out  of  a  foundation,  and  splitting 
of  walls,  are  also  probably  effects  sometimes  of  rarefied 
moisture  in  the  earth,  under  the  hearth,  or  in  the  walls. 
We  should  therefore  have  a  durable  conductor  under 
ground,  or  convey  the  lightning  to  the  earth  at  some  dis- 
tance. 

It  must  afford  Lord  Marischal  a  good  deal  of  diversion 
to  preside  in  a  dispute  so  ridiculous  as  that  you  mention. 
Judges  in  their  decisions  often  use  precedents.  I  have 
somewhere  met  with  one,  that  is  what  the  lawyers  call  a 
case  in  point.  The  Church  people  and  the  Puritans  in  a 
country  town  had  once  a  bitter  contention  concerning  the 
erecting  of  a  Maypole,  which  the  former  desired  and  the 
latter  opposed.  Each  party  endeavoured  to  strengthen 
itself  by  obtain:ng  the  authority  of  the  mayor,  directing  or 
forbidding  a  Maypole.  He  heard  their  altercation  with 
great  patience,  and  then  gravely  determined  thus:   "You, 


<Et.  56.]  A    PIOUS  CONTEST.  43 1 

that  are  for  having  no  Maypole,  shall  have  no  Maypole ; 
and  you,  that  are  for  having  a  Maypole,  shall  have  a  May- 
pole. Get  about  your  business,  and  let  me  hear  no  more 
of  this  quarrel."  * 

Your  compliment  of  gold  and  wisdom  is  very  obliging  to 
me,  but  a  little  injurious  to  your  country.  The  various 
value  of  every  thing  in  every  part  of  this  world  arises,  you 
know,  from  the  various  proportions  of  the  quantity  to  the 
demand.  We  are  told,  that  gold  and  silver  in  Solomon's 
time  were  so  plenty,  as  to  be  of  no  more  value  in  his 
country  than  the  stones  in  the  street.  You  have  here  at 
present  just  such  a  plenty  of  wisdom.  Your  people  are, 
therefore,  not  to  be  censured  for  desiring  no  more  among 
them  than  they  have ;  and  if  I  have  any,  I  should  certainly 
carry  it  where,  from  its  scarcity,  it  may  probably  come  to 
a  better  market. 

To  Mary  ste-        *     *     *     Our  ships  for  America  do  not  sail 

venson,  dated  T  .     ,       .         ...    ,  ■•> 

London,  7  so  soon  as  *  expected ;  it  will  be  yet  five  or 
June,  176a.  six  weeks  before  we  embark,  and  leave  the  old 
world  for  the  new.  I  fancy  I  feel  a  little  like  dying  saints, 
who,  in  parting  with  those  they  love  in  this  world,  are  only 
comforted  with  the  hope  of  more  perfect  happiness  in  the 
next.  I  have,  in  America,  connexions  of  the  most  engag- 
ing kind ;  and,  happy  as  I  have  been  in  the  friendships 
here  contracted,  those  promise  me  greater  and  more  lasting 
felicity.  But  God  only  knows  whether  these  promises  shall 
be  fulfilled. 


*  Lord  Marischal  was  a  person  of  consideration  in  Neufchatel,  to  whom 
Dr.  Franklin  had  communicated,  through  Mr.  Hume,  a  paper  containing 
directions  for  putting  up  lightning  rods. — S. 


432     PLANS  FOR  RETURNING    TO   AMERICA.  [iET.  56. 

To  Mary  ste-  This  is  the  best  paper  I  can  get  at  this 
Portsmouth      wretched  inn,  but  it  will  convey  what  is  in- 

11  August,  trusted  to  it  as  faithfully  as  the  finest.  It  will 
1762. 

tell  my  Polly  how  much  her  friend  is  afflicted, 

that  he  must,  perhaps,  never  again  see  one  for  whom  he  has 
so  sincere  an  affection,  joined  to  so  perfect  an  esteem ;  who 
he  once  flattered  himself  might  become  his  own,  in  the 
tender  relation  of  a  child,  but  can  now  entertain  such  pleas- 
ing hopes  no  more.*  Will  it  tell  how  much  he  is  afflicted? 
No,  it  cannot. 

Adieu,  my  dearest  child.  I  will  call  you  so.  Why 
should  I  not  call  you  so,  since  I  love  you  with  all  the  ten- 
derness of  a  father?  Adieu.  May  the  God  of  all  good- 
ness shower  down  his  choicest  blessings  upon  you,  and 
make  you  infinitely  happier,  than  that  event  would  have 
made  you.  And,  wherever  I  am,  believe  me  to  be,  with 
unalterable  affection,  my  dear  Polly,  your  sincere  friend. 

To  Lord  I  am  now  waiting  here  only  for  a  wind  to 

Portsmouth      wa^  me  to  America,  but   cannot   leave   this 

17  August,  happy  island  and  my  friends  in  it,  without 
1762.  .        .  _ 

extreme  regret,  though  I  am  going  to  a  country 

and  a  people  that  I  love.     I  am  going  from  the  old  world 

to  the  new ;  and  I  fancy  I  feel  like  those,  who  are  leaving 

this  world  for  the  next ;  grief  at  the  parting ;  fear  of  the 

passage ;  hope  of  the  future.     These  different  passions  all 

affect  their  minds  at  once ;  and  these  have  tenderedm.t  down 

exceedingly.     It  is  usual  for  the  dying  to  beg  forgiveness  of 

their  surviving  friends,  if  they  have  ever  offended  them. 

Can  you,  my  Lord,  forgive  my  long  silence,  and  my  not 


*  This  paragraph  discloses  Franklin's  hope  that  his  son  William  would 
have  married  Miss  Stevenson. — ED. 


&t  56.]  PLANS  FOR   RETURNING    TO  AMERICA.    433 

acknowledging  till  now  the  favor  you  did  me  in  sending  me 
your  excellent  book?  Can  you  make  some  allowance  for  a 
fault  in  others,  which  you  have  never  experienced  in  your- 
self; for  the  bad  habit  of  postponing  from  day  to  day, 
what  one  every  day  resolves  to  do  to-morrow?  A  habit 
that  grows  upon  us  with  years,  and  whose  only  excuse  is  we 
know  not  how  to  mend  it.  If  you  are  disposed  to  favor 
me,  you  will  also  consider  how  much  one's  mind  is  taken 
up  and  distracted  by  the  many  little  affairs  one  has  to  settle 
before  the  undertaking  such  a  voyage,  after  so  long  a  resi- 
dence in  a  country ;  and  how  little,  in  such  a  situation, 
one's  mind  is  fitted  for  serious  and  attentive  reading;  which, 
with  regard  to  the  "Elements  of  Criticism,"  I  intended 
before  I  should  write.  I  can  now  only  confess  and  endeavour 
to  amend.  In  packing  up  my  books,  I  have  reserved  yours 
to  read  on  the  passage.  I  hope  I  shall  therefore  be  able  to 
write  to  you  upon  it  soon  after  my  arrival.  At  present  I 
can  only  return  my  thanks,  and  say  that  the  parts  I  have 
read  gave  me  both  pleasure  and  instruction  ;  that  I  am 
convinced  of  your  position,  new  as  it  was  to  me,  that  a 
good  taste  in  the  arts  contributes  to  the  improvement  of 
morals ;  and  that  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  the 
work  universally  commended  by  those  who  have  read  it. 

And  now,  my  dear  Sir,  accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  the 
kindness  you  have  shown  me,  and  my  best  wishes  of  happi- 
ness to  you  and  yours.  Wherever  I  am,  I  shall  esteem  the 
friendship  you  honor  me  with  as  one  of  the  felicities  of  my 
life;  I  shall  endeavour  to  cultivate  it  by  a  more  punctual 
correspondence;  and  I  hope  frequently  to  hear  of  your 
welfare  and  prosperity.* 

*  Dr  Franklin  sailed  for  America  immediately  after  writing  this  letter, 
and  after  a  sojourn  in  England  of  five  years. — En. 


CHAPTER    II. 

His  Reception  in  America — His  Son's  Marriage,  and  appointment  as  Gov- 
ernor of  New  Jersey — Tour  through  the  Colonies  as  Postmaster-General — 
Insurrection  of  the  Indians — Drafts  a  Militia  Bill— Its  Rejection  by  the 
Governor— Drafts  a  Petition  to  the  Throne  for  a  Change  of  Governor — 
Is  Defeated  for  the  Assembly — Sent  to  England  again  as  Agent  of  the 
Colony  of  Pennsylvania — Parting  Advice  to  his  Daughter — Connecticut 
Religion. 

1762-I764. 

ToMr.White-        I  thank  you  for  your  kind  congratulations 

ford,  dated  ,  .  ,  ±      Tr  . 

Philadelphia,  on  my  son  s  promotion  and  marriage.1"  If  he 
7  Dec,  1762.  makes  a  good  governor  and  husband,  (as  I 
hope  he  will,  for  I  know  he  has  good  principles  and  a  good 
disposition,)  these  events  will  both  of  them  give  me  con- 
tinual pleasure. 


*  Dr.  Franklin  sailed  for  America  towards  the  end  of  August,  1762,  but 
did  not  reach  Philadelphia  until  the  1st  of  November  of  that  year,  and  aftei 
an  absence  from  his  country  of  five  years.  A  few  days  before  sailing,  his 
son  William  was  named  Governor  of  New  Jersey ;  and  very  shortly  after, 
somewhat  to  the  father's  disappointment  we  may  infer  from  his  last  letter  to 
Miss  Stevenson,  the  governor  married  a  young  West  Indian  girl  by  the 
name  of  Dowes.  As  William  had  personally  no  pretensions  to  an  appoint- 
ment of  such  dignity,  it  is  not  easy  to  misunderstand  the  motives  of  the  ministry 
in  making  it.  The  differences  between  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies 
had  already  assumed  such  importance  as  to  make  it  desirable  to  detach  a 
man  of  Franklin's  influence  from  the  colonial  party.  The  effort  to  induce 
434 


ALT.  57.]  CAPTURE    OF  THE  HAVANA.  435 

The  taking  of  the  Havana,  on  which  I  congratulate  you, 
is  a  conquest  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  will  doubtless 
contribute  a  due  share  of  weight  in  procuring  us  reasonable 
terms  of  peace.  It  has  been,  however,  the  dearest  con- 
quest, by  far,  that  we  have  made  this  war,  when  we  consider 
the  terrible  havoc  made  by  sickness  in  that  brave  army  of 
veterans,  now  almost  totally  ruined. 

ToMrs.Cath-  I  received  with  great  pleasure  my  dear 
erine  Greene,*    friend's  favor  of  December  20th,  as  it  informed 

dated    Phila- 
delphia,     23     me  that   you  and   yours  are   all   well.       Mrs. 

Jan.,  1763.  Franklin  admits  of  your  apology  for  dropping 
the  correspondence  with  her,  and  allows  your  reasons  to  be 
good ;  but  hopes,  when  you  have  more  leisure,  it  may  be 
resumed.  She  joins  with  me  in  congratulating  you  on  your 
present  happy  situation.  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  invita- 
tion. I  purpose  a  journey  into  New  England  in  the  spring 
or  summer  coming.  I  shall  not  fail  to  pay  my  respects  to 
you  and  Mr.  Greene,  when  I  come  your  way.  Please  to  make 
my  compliments  acceptable  to  him. 


him  to  bring  his  family  to  England  and  settle  there  having  failed,  the  bland- 
ishments of  patronage  were  essayed,  with  what  expectations  maybe  inferred 
from  the  following  paragraph  in  a  letter  from  Thomas  Penn,  one  of  the  pro- 
prietaries, to  Governor  Hamilton : 

"lam  told  you  will  find  Mr.  Franklin  more  tractable,  and  I  believe  we 
shall,  in  matters  of  prerogative  ;  as  his  son  must  obey  instructions,  and  what 
he  is  ordered  to  do  the  father  cannot  well  oppose  in  Pennsylvania.  ' 

The  artifice  had  its  perfect  work  upon  the  son,  who,  to  the  infinite  chagrin 
of  the  father,  from  that  time  forth  became  the  servile  instrument  of  the 
ministry,  and  in  the  due  course  of  events  a  pensioned  refugee  in  London. 
The  ministers  were  not  long  in  discovering  that  their  compliments  had  been 
wasted  upon  the  doctor,  whose  zeal  and  vigilance  in  maintaining  the  rights 
of  the  colonies  increased  with  every  new  provocation. — Ed. 

*  Formerly  Miss  Catherine  Ray,  married  to  Mr.  William  Greene,  after- 
wards Governor  of  Rhode  Island. — Ed. 


436     ACCOUNT  OF  SERVICES  IN  AMERICA.        [My.  5'/. 

I  have  had  a  most  agreeable  time  of  it  in  Europe.  I 
have,  in  company  with  my  son,  been  in  most  parts  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Flanders,  and  Holland ;  and  generally 
have  enjoyed  a  good  share  of  health.  If  you  had  asked  the 
rest  of  your  questions,  I  could  more  easily  have  made  this 
letter  longer.  Let  me  have  them  in  your  next.  I  think  I 
am  not  much  altered  ;  at  least  my  esteem  and  regard  for  my 
Katy  (if  I  may  still  be  permitted  to  call  her  so)  is  the  same, 
and  I  believe  will  be  unalterable,  whilst  I  am,  &c. 

To   Lord  You  require  my  history  from  the  time  I  set 

London  *  %  sa^  f°r  America.  I  left  England  about  the  end 
June,  1765.*  of  August,  1 762,  in  company  with  ten  sail  of 
merchant  ships,  under  a  convoy  of  a  man -of- war.  f  We  had 
a  pleasant  passage  to  Madeira,  where  we  were  kindly  re- 
ceived and  entertained ;  our  nation  being  then  in  high 
honor  with  the  Portuguese,  on  account  of  the  protection 
we  were  then  affording  them  against  the  united  invasions 
of  France  and  Spain.  It  is  a  fertile  island,  and  the  different 
heights  and  situations  among  its  mountains  afford  such  tem- 
peraments of  air,  that  all  the  fruits  of  northern  and  southern 
countries  are  produced  there;  corn,  grapes,  apples,  peaches, 
oranges,  lemons,  plantains,  bananas,  &c.  Here  we  furnished 
ourselves  with  fresh  provisions,  and  refreshments  of  all 
kinds;  and,  after  a  few  days,  proceeded  on  our  voyage, 
running  southward  until  we  got  into  the  trade  winds,  and 
then  with  them  westward,  till  we  drew  near  the  coast  of 
America.     The  weather  was  so  favorable,  that  there  were 


*  This  letter,  written  after  Franklin's  return  to  London,  is  given  here  tor 
the  sake  of  its  recapitulation  of  his  experiences  during  his  absence  from 
England.— Ed. 

f  England  was  then  at  war  with  France. — Ed. 


Mt.  57.]        PUBLIC  SERVICES   IN  AMERICA.  437 

few  days  in  which  we  could  not  visit  from  ship  to  ship, 
dining  with  each  other,  and  on  board  of  the  man-of-war ; 
which  made  the  time  pass  agreeably,  much  more  so  than 
when  one  goes  in  a  single  ship ;  for  this  was  like  travelling 
in  a  moving  village,  with  all  one's  neighbors  about  one. 

On  the  1st  of  November,  I  arrived  safe  and  well  at  my 
own  home,  after  an  absence  of  near  six  years,  found  my 
wife  and  daughter  well ;  the  latter  grown  quite  a  woman, 
with  many  amiable  accomplishments  acquired  in  my  ab- 
sence ;  and  my  friends  as  hearty  and  affectionate  as  ever, 
with  whom  my  house  was  filled  for  many  days,  to  congratu- 
late me  on  my  return.  I  had  been  chosen  yearly  during 
my  absence  to  represent  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  our  pro- 
vincial Assembly ;  and,  on  my  appearance  in  the  House, 
they  voted  me  three  thousand  pounds  sterling  for  my 
services  in  England,  and  their  thanks,  delivered  by  the 
Speaker.  In  February  following,  my  son  arrived  with  my 
new  daughter;  for,  with  my  consent  and  approbation,  he* 
married  soon  after  I  left  England  a  very  agreeable  West 
India  lady,  with  whom  he  is  very  happy.  I  accompanied 
him  to  his  government,  where  he  met  with  the  kindest 
reception  from  the  people  of  all  ranks,  and  has  lived  with 
them  ever  since  in  the  greatest  harmony.  A  river  only 
parts  that  province  and  ours,  and  his  residence  is  within 
seventeen  miles  of  me,  so  that  we  frequently  see  each  other. 

In  the  spring  of  1763,  I  set  out  on  a  tour  through  all  the 
northern  Colonies  to  inspect  and  regulate  the  post-offices  in 
the  several  provinces.  In  this  journey  I  spent  the  summer, 
travelled   about  sixteen   hundred  miles,  and    did   not   get 


*  This  apparently  superfluous  statement  is  made  doubtless  to  explain  his 
absence  from  a  ceremony  which  took  place  only  a  few  days  after  he  left 
England.— Ed. 

39  u 


4.38  PUBLIC  SERVICES  IN  AMERICA.        [/Et.  57 

home  till  the  beginning  of  November.  The  Assembly 
sitting  through  the  following  winter,  and  warm  disputes 
arising  between  them  and  the  governor,  I  became  wholly 
engaged  in  public  affairs ;  for,  besides  my  duty  as  an 
Assemblyman,  I  had  another  trust  to  execute,  that  of  being 
one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  by  law  to  dispose  of 
the  public  money  appropriated  to  the  raising  and  paying 
an  army  to  act  against  the  Indians,  and  defend  the  frontiers. 
And  then,  in  December,  we  had  two  insurrections  of  the 
back  inhabitants  of  our  province,  by  whom  twenty  poor 
Indians  were  murdered,  that  had,  from  the  first  settlement 
of  the  province,  lived  among  us,  under  the  protection  of 
our  government.  This  gave  me  a  good  deal  of  employ- 
ment ;  for,  as  the  rioters  threatened  further  mischief,  and 
their  actions  seemed  to  be  approved  by  an  ever-acting  party, 
I  wrote  a  pamphlet  entitled  "A  Narrative,  &c."  (which  I 
think  I  sent  to  you)  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  our  weak 
government,  by  rendering  the  proceedings  of  the  rioters 
unpopular  and  odious.  This  had  a  good  effect ;  and  after- 
wards, when  a  great  body  of  them  with  arms  marched 
towards  the  capital,  in  defiance  of  the  government,  with  an 
avowed  resolution  to  put  to  death  one  hundred  and  forty 
Indian  converts  then  under  its  protection,  I  formed  an 
Association  at  the  governor's  request,  for  his  and  their 
defence,  we  having  no  militia.  Near  one  thousand  of  the 
citizens  accordingly  took  arms;  Governor  Penn  made  my 
house  for  some  time  his  head-quarters,  and  did  every  thing 
by  my  advice ;  so  that,  for  about  forty-eight  hours,  I  was  a 
very  great  man  ;  as  I  had  been  once  some  years  before,  in 
a  time  of  public  danger.* 

*  This  is  a  reference  to  the  defeat  of  General  Braddock  by  the  French,  at 
the  battle  of  Monongahela.     See  ante,  p.  323  et  seq. — En. 


&T.  57-]        PUBLIC  SERVICES  IN  AMERICA.  439 

But  the  fighting  face  we  put  on,  and  the  reasonings  we 
used  with  the  insurgents,  (for  I  went  at  the  request  of  the 
governor  and  council,  with  three  others,  to  meet  and  dis- 
course with  them,)  having  turned  them  back  and  restored 
quiet  to  the  city,  I  became  a  less  man  than  ever  ;  for  I  had, 
by  this  transaction,  made  myself  many  enemies  among  the 
populace  ;  and  the  governor,  (with  whose  family  our  public 
disputes  had  long  placed  me  in  an  unfriendly  light,  and  the 
services  I  had  lately  rendered  him  not  being  of  the  kind 
that  make  a  man  acceptable,)  thinking  it  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity, joined  the  whole  weight  of  the  proprietary  interest 
to  get  me  out  of  the  Assembly ;  which  was  accordingly 
effected  at  the  last  election,  by  a  majority  of  about  twenty- 
five  in  four  thousand  voters.  The  House,  however,  when 
they  met  in  October,  approved  of  the  resolutions  taken, 
while  I  was  Speaker,  of  petitioning  the  crown  for  a  change 
of  government,  and  requested  me  to  return  to  England,  to 
prosecute  that  petition  ;  which  service  I  accordingly  under- 
took, and  embarked  at  the  beginning  of  November  last, 
being  accompanied  to  the  ship,  sixteen  miles,  by  a  caval- 
cade of  three  hundred  of  my  friends,  who  filled  our  sails  with 
their  good  wishes,  and  I  arrived  in  thirty  days  at  London. 

Here  I  have  been  ever  since,  engaged  in  that  and  other 
public  affairs  relating  to  America,  which  are  like  to  continue 
some  time  longer  upon  my  hands  ;  but  I  promise  you,  that 
when  I  am  quit  of  these,  I  will  engage  in  no  other ;  and 
that,  as  soon  as  I  have  recovered  the  ease  and  leisure  I  hope 
for,  the  task  you  require  of  me,  of  finishing  my  "Art  of 
Virtue,"  shall  be  performed.  In  the  mean  time,  I  must 
request  you  would  excuse  me  on  this  consideration,  that 
the  powers  of  the  mind  are  possessed  by  different  men  in 
different   degrees,  and    that  every  one  cannot,  like   Lord 


440  THE   ENGLISH  PEOPLE.  [iET.  57. 

Karnes,  intermix  literary  pursuits  and  important  business 
without  prejudice  to  either. 

I  send  you  herewith  two  or  three  other  pamphlets  of  my 
writing  on  our  political  affairs,  during  my  short  residence  in 
America;*  but  I  do  not  insist  on  your  reading  them;  for 
[  know  you  employ  all  your  time  to  some  useful  purpose. 

ToMarySte-        Your  pleasing  favor  of  November   nth  is 

venson,  dated  ,     ,  ,.     c         j  , 

Philadelphia     now  Def°re  me-    ■"  found  me,  as  you  supposed 

25  March,  it  would,  happy  with  my  American  friends 
1763. 

and  family  about  me;  and  it  made  me  more 

happy  in  showing  me,  that  I  am  not  yet  forgotten  by  the 
dear  friends  I  left  in  England.  And,  indeed,  why  should 
I  fear  they  will  ever  forget  me,  when  I  feel  so  strongly  that 
I  shall  ever  remember  them? 

Of  all  the  enviable  things  England  has,  I  envy  it  most 
its  people.  Why  should  that  petty  Island,  which,  com- 
pared to  America,  is  but  like  a  stepping-stone  in  a  brook, 
scarce  enough  of  it  above  water  to  keep  one's  shoes  dry ; 
why,  I  say,  should  that  little  Island  enjoy,  in  almost  every 
neighbourhood,  more  sensible,  virtuous,  and  elegant  minds, 
than  we  can  collect  in  ranging  a  hundred  leagues  of  our 
vast  forests  ?  But  it  is  said  the  Arts  delight  to  travel  west- 
ward. You  have  effectually  defended  us  in  this  glorious 
war,  and  in  time  you  will  improve  us.  After  the  first  cares 
for  the  necessaries  of  life  are  over,  we  shall  come  to  think 
of  the  embellishments.  Already,  some  of  our  young 
geniuses  begin  to  lisp  attempts  at  painting,  poetry,  and 
music.     We  have  a  young  painter  now  studying  at  Rome. 


*  These  were  *  A  Narrative  of  the  Late  Massacres  ;"  "  Cool  Thoughts  ;' 
and  the  "  Preface  to  Galloway's  Speech." — Ed. 


*T.  57.]  AMERICAN  MUSIC.  44 1 

Some  specimens  of  our  poetry  I  send  you,  which,  if  Dr. 
Hawkesworth's  fine  taste  cannot  approve,  his  good  heart 
will  at  least  excuse.  The  manuscript  piece  is  by  a  young 
friend  of  mine,  and  was  occasioned  by  the  loss  of  one 
of  his  friends,  who  lately  made  a  voyage  to  Antigua  to 
settle  some  affairs,  previous  to  an  intended  marriage  with 
an  amiable  young  lady  here,  but  unfortunately  died  there. 
I  send  it  to  you,  because  the  author  is  a  great  admirer  of 
Mr.  Stanley's  musical  compositions,  and  has  adapted  this 
piece  to  an  air  in  the  sixth  Concerto  of  that  gentleman,  the 
sweetly  solemn  movement  of  which  he  is  quite  in  raptures 
with.  He  has  attempted  to  compose  a  recitativo  for  it,  but, 
not  being  able  to  satisfy  himself  in  the  bass,  wishes  I  could 
get  it  supplied.  If  Mr.  Stanley  would  condescend  to  do 
that  for  him,  he  would  esteem  it  as  one  of  the  highest 
honors,  and  it  would  make  him  excessively  happy.  You 
will  say  that  a  recitativo  can  be  but  a  poor  specimen  of  our 
music.  It  is  the  best  and  all  I  have  at  present,  but  you 
may  see  better  hereafter. 

I  hope  Mr.  Ralph's  affairs  are  mended  since  you  wrote. 
I  know  he  had  some  expectations,  when  I  came  away,  from 
a  hand  that  would  help  him.  He  has  merit,  and  one  would 
think  ought  not  to  be  so  unfortunate. 

I  do  not  wonder  at  the  behaviour  you  mention  of  Dr. 
S towards  me,  for  I  have  long  since  known  him  thor- 
oughly. I  made  that  man  my  enemy  by  doing  him  too 
much  kindness.  It  is  the  honestest  way  of  acquiring  an 
enemy.  And,  since  it  is  convenient  to  have  at  least  one 
enemy,  who,  by  his  readiness  to  revile  one  on  all  occasions, 
may  make  one  careful  of  one's  conduct,  I  shall  keep  him 
an  enemy  for  that  purpose  ;  and  shall  observe  your  good 
mother's  advice,  never  again  to  receive  him  as  a  friend. 
39*  \ 


442  KEEPING   AN  ENEMY.  [iET.  57 

She  once  admired  the  benevolent  spirit  breathed  in  his  ser- 
mons. She  will  now  see  the  justness  of  the  lines  your  lau- 
reate Whitehead  addressed  to  his  poets,  and  which  I  now 
address  to  her. 

"  Full  many  a  peevish,  envious,  slanderous  elf 
Is,  in  his  works,  benevolence  itself. 
For  all  mankind,  unknown,  his  bosom  heaves ; 
He  only  injures  those,  with  whom  he  lives. 
Read,  then,  the  man ; — does  truth  his  actions  guide, 
Exempt  from  petulance,  exempt  from  pride  ? 
To  social  duties  does  his  heart  attend, 
As  son,  as  father,  husband,  brother,  friend  f 
Do  those,  who  know  him,  love  him  f     If  they  do, 
You've  my  permission,  you  may  love  him  too." 

Nothing  can  please  me  more,  than  to  see  your  philo- 
sophical improvements,  when  you  have  leisure  to  commu- 
nicate them  to  me.  I  still  owe  you  a  long  letter  on  that 
subject,  which  I  shall  pay.  I  am  vexed  with  Mr.  James, 
that  he  has  been  so  dilatory  in  Mr.  Madison's  Armonica. 
I  was  unlucky  in  both  the  workmen,  that  I  permitted  to 
undertake  making  those  instruments.  The  first  was  fanci- 
ful, and  never  could  work  to  the  purpose,  because  he  was 
ever  conceiving  some  new  improvement,  that  answered  no 
end.  The  other  I  doubt  is  absolutely  idle.  I  have  recom- 
mended a  number  to  him  from  hence,  but  must  stop  my 
hand. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Polly,  and  believe  me,  as  ever,  with  the 
sinceiest  esteem  and  regard,  your  truly  affectionate  friend 
and  humble  servant. 


To  his  wife,  We  left  Woodbridge  on  Tuesday  morning, 
York  16 June  anc^  went  to  Elizabethtown,  where  I  found  our 
T763-  children   returned   from   the   Falls,  and  very 


^t.  57.]  POST-OFFICE   INSPECTION.  443 

well.  The  Corporation  were  to  have  a  dinner  that  day  at 
the  Point  for  their  entertainment,  and  prevailed  on  us  to 
stay.  There  were  all  the  principal  people,  and  a  great  many 
ladies.  After  dinner  we  set  out,  and  got  here  before  dark. 
We  waited  on  the  governor  and  on  General  Amherst  yester- 
day ;  dined  with  Lord  Stirling;  went  in  the  evening  to  my 
old  friend  Mr.  Kennedy's  funeral ;  and  are  to  dine  with  the 
general  to-day.  Mr.  Hughes  and  daughter  are  well,  and 
Betsey  Holt.  I  have  not  yet  seen  B.  Mecom,  but  shall  to 
day.     I  am  very  well. 

I  purpose  to  take  Sally  at  all  events,  and  write  for  her  to- 
day to  be  ready  to  go  in  the  packet  that  sails  next  Friday 
week.*  If  there  is  no  other  suitable  company,  Mr.  Parker 
will  go  with  her  and  take  care  of  her.  I  am  glad  you  sent 
some  wax  candles  with  the  things  to  Boston.  I  am  now  so 
used  to  them,  that  I  cannot  well  do  without  them.  You 
spent  your  Sunday  very  well,  but  I  think  you  should  go 
oftener  to  church.  I  approve  of  your  opening  all  my  Eng- 
lish letters,  as  it  must  give  you  pleasure  to  see,  that  people, 
who  knew  me  there  so  long  and  so  intimately,  retain  so 
sincere  a  regard  for  me. 

ToMrs.Cath-        I  am  almost  ashamed  to  tell  you,  that  I  have 

dated  Boston'      na<^  another  fa^>  an^  Put  mv  shoulder  OUt.      It 

5  Sept.,  1763.      is  well  reduced  again,  but  is  still  affected  with 


*  Franklin  was  about  setting  out  upon  a  five  months  tour  through  the 
northern  colonies  for  the  inspection  of  the  post-offices.  He  traveled  about 
sixteen  hundred  miles,  accompanied  by  his  daughter,  in  a  light  carriage, 
driving  himself.  A  saddle-horse  made  a  part  of  the  equipage,  on  which 
Sally  rode  most  of  the  way  from  Rhode  Island  to  Philadelphia.  He  was 
suffering  at  this  time  from  a  pain  in  the  breast,  which  was  aggravated  by 
a  succession  of  accidental  falls,  to  which  allusion  is  made  in  several  of  his 
letters  written  at  this  period.  It  passed  away,  however,  soon  after  his  retur.. 
to  Philadelphia. 


444 


RELIGIOUS  HOPES.  [IEt.  58. 


constant,  though  not  very  acute  pain.  I  am  not  yet  able 
to  travel  rough  roads,  and  must  lie  by  awhile,  as  I  can 
neither  hold  reins  nor  whip  with  my  right  hand  till  it  grows 
stronger. 

Do  you  think,  after  this,  that  even  your  kindest  invita- 
tions and  Mr.  Greene's  can  prevail  with  me  to  venture  my- 
self again  on  such  roads?  And  yet  it  would  be  a  great 
pleasure  to  me  to  see  you  and  yours  once  more.  Sally  and 
my  sister  Mecom  thank  you  for  your  remembrance  of  them, 
and  present  their  affectionate  regards.  My  best  respects  to 
good  Mr.  Greene,  Mrs.  Ray,  and  love  to  your  little  ones. 
I  am  glad  to  hear  they  are  well,  and  that  your  Celia  goes 
alone.     I  am,  dear  friend,  yours  affectionately. 

To  George  Your    frequently   repeated   wishes   for    my 

date^Phiia-  eternal,  as  well  as  my  temporal  happiness,  are 
deiphia,  19         very  obliging,  and  I  can  only  thank  you  for 

June,  1764.  .  .  .         .  T    , 

them  and  offer  you  mine  in  return.  I  have 
myself  no  doubt,  that  I  shall  enjoy  as  much  of  both  as  is 
proper  for  me.  That  Being,  who  gave  me  existence,  and 
through  almost  threescore  years  has  been  continually  show- 
ering his  favors  upon  me,  whose  very  chastisements  have 
been  blessings  to  me ;  can  I  doubt  that  he  loves  me?  And, 
if  he  loves  me,  can  I  doubt  that  he  will  go  on  to  take  care 
of  me,  not  only  here  but  hereafter?  This  to  some  may  seem 
presumption ;  to  me  it  appears  the  best  grounded  hope  ; 
hope  of  the  future  built  on  experience  of  the  past. 

Tc  Mrs.  Me-  *  *  *  I  find  myself  at  present  quite  clear 
Philadelphia  ^rom  Pam>  and  so  have  at  length  left  off  the 
Nov.,  1764.  Cold  bath.  There  is,  however,  still  some  weak- 
ness in  my  shoulder,  though  much  stronger  than  when  I  left 


<Et.  58.]  THE  MILITIA   LAW.  445 

Boston,  and  mending.  I  am  otherwise  very  happy  in  being  at 
home,  where  I  am  allowed  to  know  when  I  have  eat  enough 
and  drunk  enough,  am  warm  enough,  and  sit  in  a  place  that  I 
like,  &c.,  and  nobody  pretends  to  know  what  I  feel  better 
than  I  do  myself.  Don't  imagine  that  I  am  a  whit  the  less 
sensible  of  the  kindness  I  experienced  among  my  friends  in 
New  England.  I  am  very  thankful  for  it,  and  shall  always 
retain  a  grateful  remembrance  of  it. 

To  hisdaugh-        we  got  down  here  at  sunset,  having  taken  in 

ter  Sarah,  °  . 

dated  Reedy  more  live  stock  at  Newcastle,  with  some  other 
night  8*NoVat  tmngs  we  wanted.  Our  good  friends,  Mr. 
1764.  Galloway,  Mr.  Wharton,  and  Mr.  James,  came 


*  Recent  disorders  in  the  province  convinced  Governor  John  Penn,  who, 
in  October,  1763,  had  succeeded  Governor  Hamilton,  that  the  civil  power 
required  strengthening,  and  he  recommended  a  militia  law  for  the  embodi- 
ment of  all  able-bodied  citizens  for  the  public  defence.  The  Assembly  cheer- 
fully accepted  the  suggestion,  and  a  committee  of  which  Franklin  was  a 
member  reported  a  suitable  bill,  one  of  the  clauses  of  which  gave  the  gov- 
ernor the  choice  of  any  one  of  three  persons  named  by  each  company  and 
regiment  for  officers.  It  also  fixed  the  scale  of  fines,  and  provided  for  the 
trial  of  offenders  by  judges  and  juries  in  the  courts  of  law. 

The  governor  refused  his  signature  to  this  bill,  claiming  for  himself  the  sole 
power  of  appointing  officers,  increasing  the  scale  of  fines,  requiring  all  trials 
to  be  by  court-martial,  and  making  some  offences  punishable  with  death. 

The  Assembly  was  shocked  by  these  proposals,  and  would  not  listen  to  them 
for  a  moment.  The  bill  was  lost.  The  ill  feeling  engendered  by  this  dispute 
was  aggravated  by  another  which  soon  followed.  To  meet  the  expenses  of 
the  Indian  war,  it  was  proposed  to  raise  ,£50,000  on  bills  of  credit,  for  the 
partial  redemption  of  which  a  land  tax  was  to  be  laid. 

By  virtue  of  the  decision  made  by  the  king  in  council,  at  Franklin's  solici- 
tation, the  located  uncultivated  lands  of  the  proprietaries  were  not  to  be 
assessed  higher  than  the  lowest  rate  at  which  any  located  uncultivated 
lands  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  should  be  assessed, — that  is,  as  the  Assem- 
bly interpreted  it,  the  proprietary  lands  were  not  to  be  rated  higher  than 
lands  of  a  similar  quality  belonging  to  other  persons.  Availing  himself  of 
an  ambiguity  in  the  expression,  the  governor  insisted  that  all  the  proprietary 
lands,  whatever  their  quality,  were  to  be  assessed  at  the  lowest  rates. 

U* 


4^6      STRUGGLES  WITH  THE  PROPRIETORS.    [_Mt.  58. 

with  me  in  the  ship  from  Chester  to  Newcastle,  and  went 
ashore  there.  It  was  kind  to  favor  me  with  their  good 
company  as  far  as  they  could.     The  affectionate  leave  taken 


The  greater  impending  danger  from  the  savages  compelled  the  Assembly 
to  submit  to  this  pettifogging  construction,  and  they  passed  the  act  on  the 
governor's  terms.  Neither  he  nor  the  Assembly  then  suspected  that  the  con- 
cession he  had  extorted,  and  to  which  they  had  been  forced  to  submit,  was 
to  result  in  rebellion,  revolution,  and  the  independence  of  the  colonies. 

Before  adjourning,  the  Assembly,  in  a  series  of  resolutions,  expressed  their 
belief  that  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  province  could  never  be  restored 
till  the  power  of  governing  it  was  lodged  directly  in  the  crown. 

These  resolutions  were  found  to  have  correctly  interpreted  the  sentiments 
of  the  people ;  for  when  the  Assembly  met  again,  some  seven  weeks  later, 
petitions  to  the  king  for  a  change  of  government  came  in  from  more  than 
three  thousand  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  Assembly,  encouraged  by  these  manifestations,  decided  by  a  large 
majority  to  unite  in  a  petition  for  the  same  object  drafted  by  Franklin  him- 
self, who,  at  the  same  time,  was  chosen  Speaker  in  the  place  of  Norris,  who 
hesitated  to  affix  his  signature  to  such  a  document. 

Pending  these  proceedings,  the  British  ministry  had  signified  its  intention 
to  raise  a  revenue  from  stamp  duties  in  the  colonies.  The  Assembly,  par- 
ticipating in  the  excitement  which  this  intelligence  caused  throughout  the 
country,  sent  to  Mr.  Jackson,  then  agent  of  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania  in 
London,  a  remonstrance  against  the  scheme,  as  tending  to  deprive  the 
people  of  their  most  essential  rights  as  British  subjects.  The  signing  of 
these  instructions  was  Dr.  Franklin's  last  act  as  Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 

The  election  which  took  place  in  the  autumn  of  this  year,  1764,  turned  on 
the  question  of  a  change  in  the  government,  and  though  the  proprietary 
party  succeeded  by  a  majority  of  twenty-five  votes  out  of  four  thousand  in 
depriving  Franklin  of  the  seat  to  which  he  had  been  chosen  for  fourteen  years 
in  succession,  it  proved  to  them  a  barren  victory,  for  as  soon  as  the  Assembly 
convened,  it  not  only  resolved  to  prosecute  the  measures  and  policy  of  the 
previous  Assembly,  but  to  send  Franklin  as  a  special  agent  to  England  to 
take  charge  of  their  petition  for  a  change  of  government,  and  to  look  after 
all  the  interests  of  the  province  abroad. 

The  Assembly  promptly  voted  that  a  provision  for  the  doctor's  expenses 
should  be  made  in  the  next  money  bill,  upon  the  strength  of  which  the 
merchants  subscribed  ^"noo  towards  his  expenses  in  a  few  hours,  and  on 
the  7th  of  November,  and  only  twelve  days  after  his  appointment,  he  was 
on  his  way  again  to  England,  accompanied  as  far  as  Chester,  where  he 


At.  58.]  ADVICE    TO  HIS  DAUGHTER.  447 

ot  me  by  so  many  friends  at  Chester  was  very  endearing, 
God  bless  them  and  all  Pennsylvania. 

My  dear  child,  the  natural  prudence  and  goodness  of 
heart  God  has  blest  you  with  make  it  less  necessary  for  me 
to  be  particular  in  giving  you  advice.  I  shall  therefore  only 
say,  that  the  more  attentively  dutiful  and  tender  you  are 
towards  your  good  mamma,  the  more  you  will  recommend 
yourself  to  me.  But  why  should  I  mention  me,  when  you 
have  so  much  higher  a  promise  in  the  commandments,  that 
such  conduct  will  recommend  you  to  the  favor  of  God. 
You  know  I  have  many  enemies,  all  indeed  on  the  public 
account,  (for  I  cannot  recollect  that  I  have  in  a  private 
capacity  given  just  cause  of  offence  to  any  one  whatever,) 
yet  they  are  enemies,  and  very  bitter  ones ;  and  you  must 
expect  their  enmity  will  extend  in  some  degree  to  you,  so 
that  your  slightest  indiscretions  will  be  magnified  into 
crimes,  in  order  the  more  sensibly  to  wound  and  afflict  me. 
It  is  therefore  the  more  necessary  for  you  to  be  extremely 
circumspect  in  all  your  behaviour,  that  no  advantage  may  be 
given  to  their  malevolence. 

Go  constantly  to  church,  whoever  preaches.  The  act  of 
devotion  in  the  Common  Prayer  Book  is  your  principal 
business  there,  and  if  properly  attended  to,  will  do  more 
towards  amending  the  heart  than  sermons  generally  can  do. 
For  they  were  composed  by  men  of  much  greater  piety  and 


was  to  board  his  vessel,  by  an  escort  of  some  three  hundred  of  his  fellow- 
citizens. 

After  a  tempestuous  voyage  of  thirty  days,  he  landed  at  Portsmouth, 
proceeded  at  once  to  London,  and  on  the  night  of  the  10th  of  December 
was  installed  again  in  his  old  lodgings  with  Mrs.  Stevenson,  in  Craven 
Street.  It  was  on  his  voyage  down  the  Delaware,  that  he  addressed  this 
letter  of  the  8th  November  to  his  daughter  Sally. — Ed. 


448  CONNECTICUT  RELIGION.  [JEt.  58. 

wisdom,  than  our  common  composers  of  sermons  can  pre- 
tend to  be;  and  therefore  I  wish  you  would  never  miss  the 
prayer  days ;  yet  I  do  not  mean  you  should  despise  sermons, 
even  of  the  preachers  you  dislike,  for  the  discourse  is  often 
much  better  than  the  man,  as  sweet  and  clear  waters  come 
through  very  dirty  earth.  I  am  the  more  particular  on  this 
head,  as  you  seemed  to  express  a  little  before  I  came  away 
some  inclination  to  leave  our  church,  which  I  would  not 
have  you  do. 

For  the  rest,  I  would  only  recommend  to  you  in  my 
absence,  to  acquire  those  useful  accomplishments,  arithmetic 
and  book-keeping.  This  you  might  do  with  ease,  if  you 
would  resolve  not  to  see  company  on  the  hours  you  set 
apart  for  those  studies. 

We  expect  to  be  at  sea  to-morrow,  if  this  wind  holds ; 
after  which  I  shall  have  no  opportunity  of  writing  to  you, 
till  I  arrive  (if  it  please  God  I  do  arrive)  in  England.  I 
pray  that  his  blessing  may  attend  you,  which  is  worth  more 
than  a  thousand  of  mine,  though  they  are  never  wanting. 

To  jared  in-         I  should  be  glad  to  know  what  it  is  that 
gersoii,     da-     distinguishes  Connecticut  religion  from  com- 

ted   Philadel-  &  5 

phia,  Dec.  11,  mon  religion: — communicate,  if  you  please, 
some  of  these  particulars  that  you  think  will 
amuse  me  as  a  virtuoso.  When  I  travelled  in  Flanders  I 
thought  of  your  excessively  strict  observation  of  Sunday; 
and  that  a  man  could  hardly  travel  on  that  day  among  you 
upon  his  lawful  occasions  without  hazard  of  punishment, 
while  where  I  was  every  one  travelled,  if  he  pleased,  or 
diverted  himself  in  any  other  way;  and  in  the  afternoon 
both  high  and  low  went  to  the  play  or  the  opera,  where 
there  was    plenty  of   singing,  fiddling,  and    dancing.     I 


JET.  58.]  VOLTAIRE    ON  TOLERATION.  4480 

looked  round  for  God's  judgments  but  saw  no  signs  of 
them.  The  cities  were  well  built  and  full  of  inhabitants, 
the  markets  filled  with  plenty,  the  people  well  favoured 
and  well  clothed ;  the  fields  well  tilled  ;  the  cattle  fat  and 
strong ;  the  fences,  houses  and  windows  all  in  repair ;  and 
no  Old  Tenor  anywhere  in  the  country, — which  would 
almost  make  one  suspect  that  the  Deity  is  not  so  angry  at 
that  offence  as  a  New  England  Justice. 

To  Colonel  Dear  Sir, —  *  *  *  I  have  lately  received 
Bouquet,  da-     a  number  of  new  pamphlets  from  England 

ted   Philadel-  ,   _  ,  .    ,     .  .  , "       , 

phia,  Sept.  30,  and  France,  among  which  is  a  piece  of  Vol- 
1764,  taire's  on  the  subject  of  religious  toleration. 

I  will  give  you  a  passage  of  it,  which,  being  read  here  at 
a  time  when  we  are  torn  to  pieces  by  faction,  religious  and 
civil,  shows  us  that,  while  we  sit  for  our  picture  to  the  able 
painter,  'tis  no  small  advantage  to  us  that  he  views  us  at  a 
favorable  distance:  "Mais  que  dirons-nous,"  dit  il,  "de 
ces  pacifiques  Primitifs  que  Ton  a  nommes  Quakers  par 
derision,  et  qui,  avec  des  usages  peut-etre  ridicules,  ont  €t€ 
si  vertueux,  et  ont  enseigne  inutilement  la  paix  aux  reste 
des  hommes  ?  lis  sont  en  Pensylvanie  au  nombre  de  cent 
mille ;  la  Discorde,  la  Controverse,  sont  ignorees  dans 
l'heureuse  patrie  qu'ils  se  sont  faite :  et  le  nom  seul  de 
leur  ville  de  Philadelphie,  qui  leur  rapelle  a  tout  moment 
que  les  hommes  sont  freres,  est  l'exemple  et  la  honte  des 
peuples  qui    ne  connaissent  pas  encore   la  tolerance."  * 


*  I  do  not  find  this  passage  precisely  in  any  of  Voltaire's  writings.  It 
certainly  is  not  in  the  most  accepted  edition  of  his  "  Traite  sur  la  Tole- 
rance." Franklin  probably  quoted  at  second-hand,  for  Voltaire  knew 
how  to  spell.  What  he  actually  wrote,  and  the  foundation  for  Franklin's 
quotation,  probably  will  be  found  in  his  "  Commentaire  sur  le  livre  Des 
Delits  et  Des  Peines"  (CEuvres  de  Voltaire  par  Beuchot,  Vol.  xlii.  p. 
40 


448  £  VOLTAIRE    ON  TOLERATION.  |7Et.  58. 

The  occasion  of  his  writing  this  "  Trait6  sur  la  Tolerance" 
was  what  he  calls  "  le  Meurtre  de  Jean  Calas,  commis  dans 
Toulouse  avec  le  glaive  de  la  Justice,  le  9me  Mars,  1762." 
There  is  in  it  abundance  of  good  sense  and  sound  reason- 
ing mixed  with  some  of  those  pleasantries  that  mark  the 
author  as  strongly  as  if  he  had  affixed  his  name.  Take 
one  of  them  as  a  sample  :  "  J'ai  apris  que  le  Parlement  de 
Toulouse  et  quelques  autres  tribunaux,  ont  une  jurispru- 
dence singuliere:  ils  admettent  des  quarts;  des  tier  six 
iemes  de  preuve.  Ainsi,  avec  six  oui-dires  d'un  cote,  trois 
de  l'autre,  et  quatre  quarts  de  presomtion  ils  forment 
trois  preuves  completes ;  et  sur  cette  belle  demonstration 
ils  vous  vouent  un  homme  sans  misericorde.  Une  I6g6re 
connaissance  de  Tart  de  raisonner  sufirait  pour  leur  faire 
prendre  une  autre  methode.  Ce  qu'on  apelle  une  demi- 
preuve  ne  peut-etre  qu'un  soupcon  :  II  n'y  a  point  a  la 
rigueur,  de  demi-preuve.  Ou  une  chose  est  prouvee,  ou 
elle  ne  Test  pas ;  il  n'y  a  point,  de  milieu.  Cent  mille 
soupcons  reunis  ne  peuvent  composer  un  nombre." 

I  send  you  one  of  the  pamphlets,  "  Jugement  rendue  dans 
1'afTaire  du  Canady,"  supposing  it  may  be  the  more  agree- 
able to  you  to  see  it,  as  during  your  war  with  that  colony 
you  must  have  been  made  acquainted  with  some  of  the 
characters  concerned.  With  the  truest  esteem  and  affec- 
tion I  am,  etc. 


476),  and  runs  as  follows:  "  Le  Parlement  de  Toulouse  a  un  usage 
bien  singulier.  On  admet  ailleurs  des  demi-preuves,  qui  au  fond  ne 
sont  que  des  doutes ;  car  on  sait  qu'il  n'y  a  point  de  demi-verites,  mais 
a  Toulouse  on  admet  des  quarts  et  des  huitiemes  de  preuves.  On  y  peut 
regarder,  par  exemple,  un  oui-dire  comme  un  quart,  un  autre  oui-dire 
plus  vague  comme  un  huitieme ;  de  sorte  que  huit  rumeurs  qui  ne  sont 
qu'un  echo  d'un  bruit  mal  fonde  peuvent  devenir  une  preuve  com- 
plete."—Ed. 


CHAPTER    III. 

jealousy  of  English  Manufacturers— Origin  of  the  Stamp  Act— Opposition 
of  Franklin— Effect  of  its  Passage  in  America— Names  a  Stamp  Distrib- 
utor—Unpleasant Consequences— Correspondence  with  Dean  Tucker. 

I765-I766. 

To  the  editor  Sir, — In  your  paper  of  Wednesday  last,  an 
paper  dated  mgeni°us  correspondent  who  calls  himself 
Monday,     20    The  Spectator,  and  dates  from  Pimlico,  under 

May,  1765.* 

the  guise  of  good  will   to   the   news-writers, 


*  In  expelling  the  French  from  Canada,  and  leaving  the  English  sole 
masters  of  America,  the  peace  of  1763  rather  complicated  than  simplified 
the  relations  of  the  mother  country  with  her  colonies.  The  fear  of  the 
French  had  made  the  colonists  submit  to  much  injustice  from  England 
for  the  sake  of  her  protection,  while  England  was  not  only  pleased  with  the 
advantageous  markets  she  found  in  her  American  possessions,  but  greatly 
dependent  upon  the  colonial  militia  for  their  defence. 

As  soon,  however,  as  the  war  with  France  terminated,  the  English  ship- 
pers and  manufacturers  began  to  complain  of  transatlantic  competition  in 
their  business.  Even  Mr.  Pitt,  who  had  boldly  defended  the  political  liber- 
ties of  the  colonies,  did  not  scruple  to  declare  that  if  they  were  to  manu- 
facture so  much  as  a  horseshoe,  they  should  feel  the  whole  weight  of 
British  power.  Selfishness  and  ignorance  invented,  and  the  press  gave 
currency  to,  the  most  absurd  stories  about  the  danger  to  British  industry 
from  these  sources.  The  character  of  these  inventions  and  the  mischievous 
effect  they  were  working  upon  the  public  mind  may  be  inferred  from  this 
specimen  of  the  communications  to  the  press,  with  which  Franklin  strove  to 
counteract  them.  No  one  knew  better  when  ridicule  was  the  most  powerful 
weapon  of  controversy. — Ed. 

449 


450      CARICATURE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PRESS.    [Mr.  59. 

whom  he  calls  a  "  useful  body  of  men  in  this  great  city," 
has,  in  my  opinion,  artfully  attempted  to  turn  them  and 
their  works  into  ridicule,  wherein,  if  he  could  succeed, 
great  injury  might  be  done  to  the  public  as  well  as  to  these 
good  people. 

Supposing,  Sir,  that  the  "we  hears"  they  give  us  of  this 
or  the  other  intended  tour  or  voyage  of  this  and  the  other 
great  personage  were  mere  inventions,  yet  they  at  least 
offer  us  an  innocent  amusement  while  we  read,  and  useful 
matter  for  conversation  when  we  are  disposed  to  con- 
verse. 

Englishmen,  Sir,  are  too  apt  to  be  silent  when  they  have 
nothing  to  say,  and  too  apt  to  be  sullen  when  they  are 
silent ;  and,  when  they  are  sullen,  to  hang  themselves. 
But,  by  these  we  hears,  we  are  supplied  with  abundant  funds 
for  discourse.  We  discuss  the  motives  for  such  voyages, 
the  probability  of  their  being  undertaken,  and  the  practica- 
bility of  their  execution.  Here  we  display  our  judgment 
in  politics,  our  knowledge  of  the  interests  of  princes,  and 
our  skill  in  geography,  and  (if  we  have  it)  show  our  dex- 
terity in  argumentation.  In  the  mean  time,  the  tedious 
hour  is  killed,  we  go  home  pleased  with  the  applauses  we 
have  received  from  others,  or  at  least  with  those  we  give  to 
ourselves  ;  we  sleep  soundly,  and  live  on,  to  the  comfort  of 
our  families.  But,  Sir,  I  beg  leave  to  say,  that  all  the 
articles  of  news  that  seem  improbable  are  not  mere  inven- 
tions. Some  of  them,  I  can  assure  you  on  the  faith  of  a 
traveller,  are  serious,  truths.  And  here,  quitting  Mr.  Spec- 
tator of  Pimlico,  give  me  leave  to  instance  the  various 
accounts  the  news-writers  have  given  us,  with  so  much 
honest  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  Poor  Old  England,  of  the 
establishing  manufactures  in  the  colonies  to  the  prejudice 


<Et.  59.]     CARICATURE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PRESS.     451 

of  those  of  the  kingdom.  It  is  objected  by  superficial 
readers,  who  yet  pretend  to  some  knowledge  of  those  coun- 
tries, that  such  establishments  are  not  only  improbable,  but 
impossible,  for  that  their  sheep  have  but  little  wool,  not  in 
the  whole  sufficient  for  a  pair  of  stockings  a  year  to  each 
inhabitant ;  that,  from  the  universal  dearness  of  labor 
among  them,  the  working  of  iron  and  other  materials,  ex 
cept  in  a  few  coarse  instances,  is  impracticable  to  anv 
advantage. 

Dear  Sir,  do  not  let  us  suffer  ourselves  to  be  amused  with 
such  groundless  objections.  The  very  tails  of  the  American 
sheep  are  so  laden  with  wool,  that  each  has  a  little  car  or 
wagon  on  four  little  wheels,  to  support  and  keep  it  from 
trailing  on  the  ground.  Would  they  caulk  their  ships, 
would  they  even  litter  their  horses  with  wool,  if  it  were  not 
both  plenty  and  cheap  ?  And  what  signifies  the  dearness  of 
labor,  when  an  English  shilling  passes  for  five  and  twenty  ? 
Their  engaging  three  hundred  silk  throwsters  here  in  one 
week  for  New  York  was  treated  as  a  fable,  because,  for- 
sooth, they  have  "no  silk  there  to  throw."  Those,  who 
make  this  objection,  perhaps  do  not  know,  that,  at  the  same 
time  the  agents  from  the  King  of  Spain  were  at  Quebec  to 
contract  for  one  thousand  pieces  of  cannon  to  be  made  there 
for  the  fortification  of  Mexico,  and  at  New  York  engaging 
the  usual  supply  of  woollen  floor-carpets  for  their  West  India 
houses,  other  agents  from  the  emperor  of  China  were  at 
Boston  treating  about  an  exchange  of  raw  silk  for  wool, 
to  be  carried  in  Chinese  junks  through  the  Straits  of 
Magellan. 

And  yet  all  this  is  as  certainly  true,  as  the  account  said 

to  be  from  Quebec,  in  all  the  papers  of  last  week,  that  the 

inhabitants  of  Canada  are  making  preparations  for  a  cod 
40* 


4.5 2      CARICATURE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PRESS.    [JEt.  59, 

and  whale  fishery  this  "summer  in  the  upper  Lakes." 
Ignorant  people  may  object,  that  the  upper  Lakes  are  fresh, 
and  that  cod  and  whales  are  salt  water  fish  ;  but  let  them 
know,  Sir,  that  cod,  like  other  fish  when  attacked  by  their 
enemies,  fly  into  any  water  where  they  can  be  safest ;  that 
whales,  when  they  have  a  mind  to  eat  cod,  pursue  them 
wherever  they  fly ;  and  that  the  grand  leap  of  the  whale  in 
the  chase  up  the  Falls  of  Niagara  is  esteemed,  by  all  who 
have  seen  it,  as  one  of  the  finest  spectacles  in  nature. 
Really,  Sir,  the  world  is  grown  too  incredulous.  It  is  like 
the  pendulum  ever  swinging  from  one  extreme  to  another. 
Formerly  every  thing  printed  was  believed,  because  it  was 
in  print.  Now  things  seem  to  be  disbelieved  for  just  the 
very  same  reason.  Wise  men  wonder  at  the  present  growth 
of  infidelity.  They  should  have  considered,  when  they 
taught  the  people  to  doubt  the  authority  of  newspapers 
and  the  truth  of  predictions  in  the  almanacs,  that  the  next 
step  might  be  a  disbelief  of  the  well  vouched  accounts  of 
ghosts  and  witches,  and  doubts  even  of  the  truths  of  the 
Creed. 

Thus  much  I  thought  it  necessary  to  say  in  favor  of  an 
honest  set  of  writers,  whose  comfortable  living  depends  on 
collecting  and  supplying  the  printers  with  news  at  the  small 
price  of  sixpence  an  article,  and  who  always  show  their 
regard  to  truth,  by  contradicting  in  a  subsequent  article 
such  as  are  wrong,  for  another  sixpence,  to  the  great  satis- 
faction and  improvement  of  us  coffee-house  students  in 
history  and  politics,  and  all  future  Livys,  Rapins,  Robert- 
sons, Humes,  and  Macaulays,  who  maybe  sincerely  inclined 
to  furnish  the  world  with  that  rara  avis,  a  true  history.  ] 
am,  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

A  Traveller. 


/Et.  58.]         FOIL  Y  OF  CURING    THE  SICK. 


452  a 


To  Dr.  Foth-  Dear  Doctor, — I  received  your  favor  of 
March  dati4d  the  Ioth  of  December.  It  was  a  great  deal 
^764.  for  one  to  write  whose  time  was  so  little  his 

own.  By  the  way,  when  do  you  intend  to  live? — i.e.,  to 
enjoy  life.  When  will  you  retire  to  your  villa,  give  your- 
self repose,  delight  in  viewing  the  operations  of  nature  in 
the  vegetable  creation,  assist  her  in  her  works,  get  your 
ingenious  friends  at  times  about  you,  make  them  happy 
with  your  conversation,  and  enjoy  theirs  :  or,  if  alone,  amuse 
yourself  with  your  books  and  elegant  collections? 

To  be  hurried  about  perpetually  from  one  sick  chamber 
to  another  is  not  living.  Do  you  please  yourself  with  the 
fancy  that  you  are  doing  good  ?  You  are  mistaken.  Half 
the  lives  you  save  are  not  worth  saving,  as  being  useless, 
and  almost  all  the  other  half  ought  not  to  be  saved,  as  being 
mischievous.  Does  your  conscience  never  hint  to  you  the 
impiety  of  being  in  constant  warfare  against  the  plans  of 
Providence?  Disease  was  intended  as  the  punishment  of 
intemperance,  sloth,  and  other  vices,  and  the  example  of 
that  punishment  was  intended  to  promote  and  strengthen 
the  opposite  virtues.  But  here  you  step  in  officiously  with 
your  Art,  disappoint  those  wise  intentions  of  nature,  and 
make  men  safe  in  their  excesses,  whereby  you  seem  to  me 
to  be  of  just  the  same  service  to  society  as  some  favorite 
first  minister  who  out  of  the  great  benevolence  of  his  heart 
should  procure  pardons  of  all  criminals  that  applied  to  him ; 
only  think  of  the  consequences. 

You  tell  me  the  Quakers  are  charged  on  your  side  of  the 
water  with  being,  by  their  aggressions,  the  cause  of  the 
war.  Would  you  believe  it  that  they  are  charged  here, 
not  with  offending  the  Indians  and  thereby  provoking  the 
war,  but  with  gaining  their  friendship  by  presents,  supply- 


45 2  b       MISREPRESENTATION   OF  QUAKERS.  [Mr.  5g. 

ing  them  privately  with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  engaging 
them  to  fall  upon  and  murder  the  poor  white  people  on  the 
frontiers  ?  Would  you  think  it  possible  that  thousands  even 
here  should  be  made  to  believe  this,  and  many  hundreds 
of  them  be  raised  in  arms,  not  only  to  kill  some  converted 
Indians,  supposed  to  be  under  the  Quakers'  protection, 
but  to  punish  the  Quakers  who  were  supposed  to  give  that 
protection?  Would  you  think  these  people  audacious 
enough  to  avow  such  designs  in  a  public  declaration,  sent 
to  the  Governor?  Would  you  imagine  that  innocent 
Quakers,  men  of  fortune  and  character,  should  think  it 
necessary  to  fly  for  safety  out  of  Philadelphia  into  the 
Jersies,  fearing  the  violence  of  such  armed  mobs,  and  con- 
fiding little  in  the  power  or  inclination  of  the  government 
to  protect  them?  And  would  you  imagine  that  strong  sus- 
picions now  prevail  that  those  mobs,  after  committing  so 
barbarous  murders  hitherto  unpunished,  are  privately  tam- 
pered with  to  be  made  instruments  of  government  to  awe 
the  Assembly  into  proprietary  measures?  And  yet  all  this 
has  happened  within  a  few  weeks  past. 

More  wonders.  You  know  that  I  don't  love  the  pro- 
prietary and  that  he  does  not  love  me.  Our  totally  different 
tempers  forbid  it.  You  might  therefore  expect  that  the 
late  new  appointments  of  one  of  his  family  would  find  me 
ready  for  opposition.  And  yet  when  his  nephew  arrived, 
our  Governor — I  considered  government  as  government — 
paid  him  all  respect,  gave  him  on  all  occasions  my  best 
advice,  promoted  in  the  Assembly  a  ready  compliance 
with  everything  he  proposed  or  recommended,  and  when 
those  daring  rioters,  encouraged  by  the  general  approbation 
ot  the  populace,  treated  his  proclamation  with  contempt,  I 
drew  my  pen  in  the  cause ;  wote  a  pamphlet  (that  I  have 


JEt.  58.]       INGRATITUDE    OF  A    GOVERNOR.  452  C 

sent  you)  to  render  the  rioters  unpopular;  promoted  an 
association  to  support  the  authority  of  the  government  and 
defend  the  Governor  by  taking  arms,  signed  it  first  myself 
and  was  followed  by  several  hundreds,  who  took  arms  ac- 
cordingly. The  Governor  offered  me  the  command  of 
them,  but  I  chose  to  carry  a  musket  and  strengthen  his 
authority  by  setting  an  example  of  obedience  to  his  order. 
And  would  you  think  it,  this  proprietary  Governor  did  me 
the  honor,  in  an  alarm,  to  run  to  my  house  at  midnight, 
with  his  counsellors  at  his  heels,  for  advice,  and  made  it  his 
head-quarters  for  some  time.  And  within  four  and  twenty 
hours,  your  old  friend  was  a  common  soldier,  a  counsellor, 
a  kind  of  dictator,  an  ambassador  to  the  country  mob,  and 
on  their  returning  home,  nobody  again.  All  this  has  hap- 
pened in  a  few  weeks. 

More  wonders !  The  Assembly  received  a  Governor  of 
the  Proprietary  family  with  open  arms,  addressed  him  with 
sincere  expressions  of  kindness  and  respect,  opened  their 
purses  to  him,  and  presented  him  with  six  hundred  pounds; 
made  a  Riot  Act  and  prepared  a  Militia  Bill  immediately, 
at  his  instance,  granted  supplies,  and  did  everything  that  he 
requested,  and  promised  themselves  great  happiness  under 
his  administration.  But  suddenly  his  dropping  all  inquiries 
after  the  murderers,  and  his  answering  the  disputes  of  the 
rioters  privately  and  refusing  the  presence  of  the  Assembly 
who  were  equally  concerned  in  the  matters  contained  in 
their  remonstrance,  brings  him  under  suspicion  ;  his  insult- 
ing the  Assembly  without  the  least  provocation  by  charging 
them  with  disloyalty  and  with  making  an  infringement  on 
the  King's  prerogatives,  only  because  they  had  presumed  to 
name  in  a  bill  offered  for  his  assent  a  trifling  officer  (some- 
what like  one  of  your  tole-gatherers  at  a  turnpike)  without 


452*/  PR OPRIE TAR Y  GO VERNMENT.  [>T.  58. 

consulting  him,  and  his  refusing  several  of  their  bills  of 
proposing  amendments  needless  disgusting. 

These  things  bring  him  and  his  government  into  sudden 
contempt.  All  regard  for  him  in  the  Assembly  is  lost.  All 
hopes  of  happiness  under  a  Proprietary  Government  are  at 
an  end.  It  has  now  scarce  authority  enough  to  keep  the 
common  peace,  and  was  another  to  come,  I  question,  though 
a  dozen  men  were  sufficient,  whether  one  could  find  so 
many  in  Philadelphia  willing  to  rescue  him  or  his  Attorney 
General,  I  won't  say  from  hanging,  but  from  any  common 
insult.     All  this  too  happened  in  a  few  weeks. 

In  fine,  everything  seems  in  this  country,  once  the  land 
of  peace  and  order,  to  be  running  fast  into  anarchy  and 
confusion.  But  we  hope  there  is  virtue  enough  in  your 
great  nation  to  support  a  good  Prince  in  the  execution  of 
a  good  government  and  the  exercise  of  his  just  prerogatives 
against  all  the  attempts  of  unreasonable  faction.  I  have 
been  already  too  long.  Adieu,  my  dear  friend,  and  believe 
me  ever,  yours  affectionately. 

Note. — Had  a  judicious  and  disinterested  Governor  been  sent  to  the 
colony  of  Pennsylvania,  instead  of  one  of  the  degenerate  Penns,  the  history 
of  this  country  would  probably  have  been  very  different  from  what  it  has 
been.  The  colonists  might  not  have  received  such  an  incurable  convic- 
tion of  the  absolute  incompatibility  of  the  policy  pursued  by  the  home 
government  with  that  which  their  situation  prescribed  for  them.  Franklin, 
whose  loyalty,  in  spite  of  the  closing  passage  of  this  letter,  had  been 
rudely  shaken  by  the  events  described  in  it,  would  probably  have  remained 
a  peace-maker,  and,  out  of  the  abundant  fertility  of  his  resources,  have 
found  a  modus  vivendi,  as  was  the  case  with  Canada,  and  instead  of  being 
the  most  efficient  apostle  of  disunion,  might  have  become  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  the  British  dependencies  in  America.  But  a  wise  Providence, 
that  makes  no  mistakes,  ordained  that  the  New  World  should  be  set  apart 
as  the  laboratory  in  which  the  soundness  of  the  great  principles  of  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  for  the  people,  by  the  people,  were  to  be  experim  n- 
tally  established  for  the  common  welfare  of  the  human  race,  and  that  the 
madness  of  a  king  should  inure  to  the  wisdom  of  the  nations. — Ed. 


Mr.  60.]         GRATITUDE    OF   THE    COLONIES.  453 

Letter    to    a        Sir, — I  have  attentively  perused  the  paper 

known      con"      70Vi    Sent     me>    anC*    am     °*"    °Pmi°n>    tnat    tne 

ceming  the  measure  it  proposes,  of  an  union  with  the 
and  effects  of  colonies,  is  a  wise  one ;  but  I  doubt  it  will 
a  union  with    hardly  be  thought  so  here,  till  it  is  too  late  to 

Great       Brit-  J  & 

ain,  and  con-  attempt  it.  The  time  has  been,  when  the 
ceming     the    colonies  would  have  esteemed  it  a  great  ad- 

repeal  or  sus-  ° 

pension  of  the  vantage,  as  well  as  honor  to  be  permitted  to 
datedP  Lon-  senc*  members  to  Parliament ;  and  would  have 
don,  Jan.  6,  asked  for  that  privilege,  if  they  could  have  had 
the  least  hopes  of  obtaining  it.  The  time  is 
now  come,  when  they  are  indifferent  about  it,  and  will 
probably  not  ask  it,  though  they  might  accept  it  if  offered 
them  ;  and  the  time  will  come,  when  they  will  certainly 
refuse  it.  But  if  such  an  union  were  now  established 
(which  methinks  it  highly  imports  this  country  to  establish) 
it  would  probably  subsist  as  long  as  Britain  shall  continue 
a  nation.  This  people,  however,  is  too  proud,  and  too 
much  despises  the  Americans,  to  bear  the  thought  of 
admitting  them  to  such  an  equitable  participation  in  the 
government  of  the  whole. 

Then  the  next  best  thing  seems  to  be,  leaving  them  in  the 
quiet  enjoyment  of  their  respective  constitutions ;  and 
when  money  is  wanted  for  any  public  service,  in  which 
they  ought  to  bear  a  part,  calling  upon  them  by  requisitorial 
letters  from  the  crown  (according  to  the  long-established 
custom)  to  grant  such  aids  as  their  loyalty  shall  dictate, 
and  their  abilities  permit.  The  very  sensible  and  benevo- 
lent author  of  that  paper  seems  not  to  have  known,  that 
such  a  constitutional  custom  subsists,  and  has  always  hither- 
to been  practised  in  America ;  or  he  would  not  have  ex- 
pressed himself  in  this  manner;   "It  is  evident,  beyond  a 


454  GRATITUDE    OF   THE    COLONIES.        [^T.  60. 

doubt,  to  the  intelligent  and  impartial,  that  after  the  very 
extraordinary  efforts,  which  were  effectually  made  by  Great 
Britain  in  the  late  war  to  save  the  colonists  from  destruction, 
and  attended  of  necessity  with  an  enormous  load  of  debts  in 
consequence,  that  the  same  colonists,  now  firmly  secured 
from  foreign  enemies,  should  be  somehow  induced  to  con- 
tribute some  proportion  towards  the  exigencies  of  state  in 
future."  This  looks  as  if  he  conceived  the  war  had  been 
carried  on  at  the  sole  expense  of  Great  Britain,  and  the 
colonies  only  reaped  the  benefit,  without  hitherto  sharing 
the  burden,  and  were  therefore  now  indebted  to  Britain  on 
that  account.  And  this  is  the  same  kind  of  argument  that 
is  used  by  those,  who  would  fix  on  the  colonies  the  heavy 
charge  of  unreasonableness  and  ingratitude,  which  I  think 
your  friend  did  not  intend. 

Please  to  acquaint  him,  then,  that  the  fact  is  not  so ; 
that,  every  year  during  the  war,  requisitions  were  made  by 
the  crown  on  the  colonies  for  raising  money  and  men ; 
that  accordingly  they  made  more  extraordinary  efforts,  in 
proportion  to  their  abilities,  than  Britain  did  ;  that  they 
raised,  paid,  and  clothed,  for  five  or  six  years,  near  twenty- 
five  thousand  men,  besides  providing  for  other  services,  as 
building  forts,  equipping  guard-ships,  paying  transports, 
&c.  And  that  this  was  more  than  their  fair  proportion 
is  not  merely  an  opinion  of  mine,  but  was  the  judgment 
of  government  here,  in  full  knowledge  of  all  the  facts ; 
for  the  then  ministry,  to  make  the  burthen  more  equal, 
recommended  the  case  to  Parliament,  and  obtained  a  re- 
imbursement to  the  Americans  of  about  two  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  sterling  every  year;  which  amounted  only  to 
about  two-fifths  of  their  expense ;  and  great  part  of  the 
rest  lies  still  a  load  of  debt  upon  them;  heavy  taxes  on  all 


ALT.  60.]         GRATITUDE    OF  THE    COLONIES.  455 

their  estates,  real  and  personal,  being  laid. by  acts  of  their 
assemblies  to  discharge  it,  and  yet  will  not  discharge  it  in 
many  years. 

While,  then,  these  burdens  continue ;  while  Britain  re- 
strains the  colonies  in  every  branch  of  commerce  and  manu- 
factures that  she  thinks  interferes  with  her  own ;  while  she 
drains  the  colonies,  by  her  trade  with  them,  of  all  the  cash 
they  can  procure  by  every  art  and  industry  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  and  thus  keeps  them  always  in  her  debt ;  (for 
they  can  make  no  law  to  discourage  the  importation  of  your 
to  them  ruinous  superfluities,  as  you  do  the  superfluities  of 
France ;  since  such  a  law  would  immediately  be  reported 
against  by  your  Board  of  Trade,  and  repealed  by  the 
crown ;)  I  say,  while  these  circumstances  continue,  and 
while  there  subsists  the  established  method  of  royal  re- 
quisitions for  raising  money  on  them  by  their  own  assem- 
blies on  every  proper  occasion ;  can  it  be  necessary  or 
prudent  to  distress  and  vex  them  by  taxes  laid  here,  in  a 
Parliament  wherein  they  have  no  representative,  and  in  a 
manner  which  they  look  upon  to  be  unconstitutional  and 
subversive  of  their  most  valuable  rights  ?  And  are  they  to 
be  thought  unreasonable  and  ungrateful  if  they  oppose  such 
taxes  ? 

Wherewith,  they  say,  shall  we  show  our  loyalty  to  oui 
gracious  King,  if  our  money  is  to  be  given  by  others,  with- 
out asking  our  consent  ?  And,  if  the  Parliament  has  a  right 
thus  to  take  from  us  a  penny  in  the  pound,  where  is  the 
line  drawn  that  bounds  that  right,  and  what  shall  hinder 
their  calling,  whenever  they  please,  for  the  other  nineteen 
shillings  and  eleven  pence  ?  Have  we  then  any  thing  that 
we  can  call  our  own?  It  is  more  than  probable,  that 
bringing  representatives  from  the  colonies  to  sit  and  act 
41  v 


456  GRATITUDE    OF   THE    COLONIES.         [JEt.  60. 

here  as  members  of  Parliament,  thus  uniting  and  consoli- 
dating your  dominions,  would  in  a  little  time  remove  these 
objections  and  difficulties,  and  make  the  future  government 
of  the  colonies  easy ;  but,  till  some  such  thing  is  done,  I 
apprehend  no  taxes,  laid  there  by  Parliament  here,  will  ever 
be  collected,  but  such  as  must  be  stained  with  blood ;  and 
I  am  sure  the  profit  of  such  taxes  will  never  answer  the 
expense  of  collecting  them,  and  that  the  respect  and  affec- 
tion of  the  Americans  to  this  country  will  in  the  struggle 
be  totally  lost,  perhaps  never  to  be  recovered ;  and  there- 
with all  the  commercial  and  political  advantages,  that 
might  have  attended  the  continuance  of  this  respect  and 
this  affection. 

In  my  own  private  judgment,  I  think  an  immediate  re- 
peal of  the  Stamp  Act  would  be  the  best  measure  for  this 
country ;  but  a  suspension  of  it  for  three  years,  the  best  for 
that.  The  repeal  would  fill  them  with  joy  and  gratitude, 
reestablish  their  respect  and  veneration  for  Parliament,  re- 
store at  once  their  ancient  and  natural  love  for  this  country, 
and  their  regard  for  every  thing  that  comes  from  it ;  hence 
the  trade  would  be  renewed  in  all  its  branches ;  they  would 
again  indulge  in  all  the  expensive  superfluities  you  supply 
them  with,  and  their  own  new-assumed  home  industry  would 
languish.  But  the  suspension,  though  it  might  continue 
their  fears  and  anxieties,  would  at  the  same  time  keep  up 
their  resolutions  of  industry  and  frugality ;  which  in  two  or 
three  years  would  grow  into  habits,  to  their  lasting  advan- 
tage. However,  as  the  repeal  will  probably  not  be  now 
agreed  to,  from  what  I  think  a  mistaken  opinion,  that  the 
honor  and  dignity  of  government  is  better  supported  by 
persisting  in  a  wrong  measure  once  entered  into,  than  by 
rectifying  an  error  as  soon  as  it  is  discovered ;    we  must 


Mt.  60.]         HISTORY  OF   THE   STAMP  ACT.  457 

allow  the  next  best  thing  for  the  advantage  of  both  coun- 
tries, is  the  suspension ;  for,  as  to  executing  the  act  by 
force,  it  is  madness,  and  will  be  ruin  to  the  whole. 

To  wniiam  In  the  pamphlet  you  were  so  kind  as  to  lend 

dated  Pawy,  me'  tnere  *s  one  important  fact  misstated, 
March  12,  apparently    from     the    writer's    not    having 

been  furnished  with  good  information ;  it  is 
the  transaction  between  Mr.  Grenville  and  the  colonies, 
wherein  he  understands  that  Mr.  Grenville  demanded  of 
them  a  specific  sum,  that  they  refused  to  grant  anything, 
and  that  it  was  on  their  refusal  only,  that  he  made  the 
motion  for  the  Stamp  Act.  No  one  of  these  particulars  is 
true.  The  fact  was  this.  Some  time  in  the  winter  of 
1763-64,  Mr.  Grenville  called  together  the  agents  of  the 
several  colonies,  and  told  them  that  he  proposed  to  draw  a 
revenue  from  America,  and  to  that  end  his  intention  was  to 
levy  a  stamp  duty  on  the  colonies  by  act  of  Parliament  in 
the  ensuing  session,  of  which  he  thought  it  fit  that  they 
should  be  immediately  acquainted,  that  they  might  have 
time  to  consider,  and,  if  any  other  duty  equally  productive 
would  be  more  agreeable  to  them,  they  might  let  him  know 
it.     The  agents  were  therefore  directed  to  write  this  to  their 


*  Nor  were  the  fiscal  ideas  of  the  British  ministry  less  fatal  than  those  of 
the  shippers  and  manufacturers  to  the  liberty  and  prosperity  of  the  colonies. 
Mr.  Grenville  insisted  upon  deriving  a  revenue  from  the  colonies,  and  had 
suggested  a  stamp  duty.  The  very  rumor  of  such  a  purpose  spread  alarm 
throughout  the  colonies,  and  provoked  from  them  a  unanimous  remonstrance. 
Dr.  Franklin  was  distinctly  instructed  by  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania 
to  neglect  no  effort  to  prevent  the  passage  of  such  an  act.  How  faithfully 
and  successfully  he  executed  these  instructions  transpires  from  his  corre- 
spondence, to  which  this  letter,  written  some  fourteen  years  later  from  Passy, 
forms  a  fitting  introduction. — Ed. 


458  HISTORY  OF   THE   STAMP  ACT.         [Mt.  59 

respective  Assemblies,  and  communicate  to  him  the  answers 
they  should  receive ;  the  agents  wrote  accordingly.  I  was 
a  member  in  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  when  this  notifi- 
cation came  to  hand.  The  observations  there  made  upon 
it  were,  that  the  ancient,  established,  and  regular  method 
of  drawing  aid  from  the  colonies  was  this.  The  occasion 
was  always  first  considered  by  their  sovereign  in  his  privy 
council,  by  whose  sage  advice  he  directed  his  secretary  of 
state  to  write  circular  letters  to  the  several  governors,  who 
were  directed  to  lay  them  before  their  assemblies.  In  these 
letters  the  occasion  was  explained  for  their  satisfaction,  with 
gracious  expressions  of  his  majesty's  confidence  in  their 
known  duty  and  affection,  on  which  he  relied,  that  they 
would  grant  such  sums  as  should  be  suitable  to  their  abilities, 
loyalty,  and  zeal  for  his  service.  That  the  colonies  had 
always  granted  liberally  on  such  requisitions,  and  so  liber- 
ally during  the  late  war,  that  the  king,  sensible  that  they  had 
granted  much  more  than  their  proportion,  had  recommended 
it  to  Parliament,  five  years  successively,  to  make  them  some 
compensation,  and  the  Parliament  accordingly  returned 
them  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year,  to  be  divided 
among  them.  That  the  proposition  of  taxing  them  in 
Parliament  was  therefore  both  cruel  and  unjust.  That,  by 
the  constitution  of  the  colonies,  their  business  was  with  the 
king,  in  matters  of  aid ;  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  any 
financier,  nor  he  with  them ;  nor  were  the  agents  the 
proper  channels  through  which  requisitions  should  be  made: 
it  was  therefore  improper  for  them  to  enter  in  any  stipula- 
tion, or  make  any  proposition,  to  Mr.  Grenville  about  lay- 
ing taxes  on  their  constituents  by  Parliament,  which  had 
really  no  right  at  all  to  tax  them,  especially  as  the  notice  he 
had  sent  them  did  not  appear  to  be  by  the  king's  order,  and 


Mr.  59.]         HISTORY  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT.  459 

perhaps  was  without  his  knowledge ;  as  the  king,  when  he 
would  obtain  anything  from  them,  always  accompanied  his. 
requisition  with  good  words;  but  this  gentleman,  instead 
of  a  decent  demand,  sent  them  a  notice,  that  they  should 
certainly  be  taxed,  and  only  left  them  the  choice  of  the 
manner.  But,  all  this  notwithstanding,  they  were  so  far 
from  refusing  to  grant  money,  that  they  resolved  to  the 
following  purpose ;  That,  as  they  always  had,  so  they 
always  should  think  it  "  their  duty  to  grant  aid  to  the  crown, 
according  to  their  abilities,  whenever  required  of  them  in 
the  usual  constitutional  manner." 

I  went  soon  after  to  England,  and  took  with  me  an 
authentic  copy  of  this  resolution,  which  I  presented  to  Mr. 
Grenville  before  he  brought  in  the  .Stamp  Act.  I  asserted 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  (Mr.  Grenville  being  present,) 
that  I  had  done  so,  and  he  did  not  deny  it.  Other  colonies 
made  similar  resolutions.  And,  had  Mr.  Grenville,  instead 
of  that  act,  applied  to  the  king  in  council  for  such  re- 
quisitional  letters,  letters  to  be  circulated  by  the  secretary 
of  state,  I  am  sure  he  would  have  obtained  more  money 
from  the  colonies  by  their  voluntary  grants,  than  he  him- 
self expected  from  his  stamps.  But  he  chose  compulsion 
rather  than  persuasion,  and  would  not  receive  from  their 
good  will  what  he  thought  he  could  obtain  without  it.  And 
thus  the  golden  bridge,  which  the  ingenious  author  thinks 
the  Americans  unwisely  and  unbecomingly  refused  to  hold 
out  to  the  minister  and  Parliament,  was  actually  held  out 
to  them,  but  they  refused  to  walk  over  it.  This  is  the  true 
history  of  that  transaction  ;  and,  as  it  is  probable  there  may 
be  another  edition  of  that  excellent  pamphlet,  I  wish  this 
may  be  communicated  to  the  candid  author,  who  I  doubt 

not  will  correct  that  error. 
41* 


460  IMPUTA  TIONS   OF  JOSIAH  TUCKER.    [JEt.  59 

To       josiah        Reverend  Sir, — Being  informed  that  some 

Tucker,*    da-  .  ,     , 

ted  London,  severe  strictures  on  my  conduct  and  character 
12  Feb.,  1774.  had  appeared  in  a  new  book  published  under 
your  respectable  name,  I  purchased  and  read  it.  After 
thanking  you  for  those  parts  of  it  that  are  so  instructive  on 
points  of  great  importance  to  the  common  interest  of  man- 
kind, permit  me  to  complain,  that,  if  by  the  description 
you  give  in  pages  180,  181,  of  a  certain  American  patriot, 


*  The  proposition  made  to  the  colonies  by  Mr.  Grenville,  says  M.  Labou- 
laye,  much  resembles  the  one  which,  twenty  years  later,  M.  de  Calonne 
addressed  to  the  Assembly  of  Notables,  and  which  a  piquant  caricature 
represented  by  a  ministerial  orator  addressing  a  flock  of  turkeys  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms :  "  Gentlemen,  I  have  invited  you  to  meet  me  to  know  with 
what  sauce  you  would  prefer  to  be  eaten."  "  But  we  do  not  wish  to  be 
eaten,"  reply  the  honorable  notables.  "  Gentlemen,"  retorted  the  minister, 
"  you  dodge  the  question."  The  colonists  were  either  to  submit  to  a  stamp 
duty  or  to  anything  else  they  preferred  that  would  yield  an  equivalent  of 
revenue,  but  be  taxed  they  should,  and  that  too,  contrary  to  the  fundamental 
principles  and  policy  of  the  British  Constitution,  without  representation. 
The  proposal  and  its  alternative  were  universally  rejected  by  the  colonists, 
but  the  ministry  were  needy,  felt  strong,  and  were  far  from  appreciating  the 
strength  of  the  sentiment  they  were  outraging.  They  passed  the  Stamp 
Act,  despite  the  firm  remonstrances  of  the  American  Assemblies  and  the 
strenuous  opposition  of  Franklin.  To  mitigate  the  ill  feeling  such  a  mea- 
sure was  likely  to  provoke, — and  when  it  became  known  to  the  colonists  their 
indignation  knew  no  bounds, — Mr.  Grenville  invited  the  colonial  agents  in 
London  to  name  such  persons  in  the  respective  colonies  as  they  deemed 
suitable  for  the  office  of  stamp  distributors.  All  the  agents  fell  into  the  trap, 
not  excepting  the  wary  doctor  himself,  who  named  his  old  friend  John 
Hughes  for  Pennsylvania.  This  qualified  sanction  of  the  offensive  act  be- 
came the  source  of  much  annoyance  to  him.  His  enemies  appealed  to  it 
as  evidence  of  his  infidelity  to  the  interests  of  the  colonies.  They  repre- 
sented him  as  having  encouraged  the  offensive  legislation,  and  as  having 
applied  for  the  position  of  stamp  distributor.  Dr.  Tucker,  then  Dean  of 
Worcester,  a  fervent  and  rather  meddlesome  parson,  of  whom  Warburton 
is  reported  to  have  said,  "  his  trade  of  a  dean  is  his  religion,  and  his  religion 
is  a  trade,"  in  a  treatise  which  he  felt  called  upon  to  publish  on  the  colonial 
troubles,  reiterated  these  charges.  The  correspondence  that  follows  was 
one  of  the  consequences. — ED. 


Mt.  59. j    imputations  of  josiah  TUCKER.  461 

whom  you  say  you  need  not  name,  you  do,  as  is  supposed, 
mean  myself,  nothing  can  be  further  from  the  truth  than 
your  assertion,  that  I  applied  or  used  any  interest,  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  be  appointed  one  of  the  stamp  officers  for 
America.  I  certainly  never  expressed  a  wish  of  the  kind  to 
any  person  whatever;  much  less  was  I,  as  you  say,  "more 
than  ordinarily  assiduous  on  this  head."  I  have  heretofore 
seen  in  the  newspapers  insinuations  of  the  same  import, 
naming  me  expressly ;  but,  being  without  the  name  of  the 
writer,  I  took  no  notice  of  them. 

I  know  not  whether  they  were  yours,  or  were  only  your 
authority  for  your  present  charge ;  but  now  they  have  the 
weight  of  your  name  and  dignified  character,  I  am  more 
sensible  of  the  injury ;  and  I  beg  leave  to  request,  that  you 
will  reconsider  the  grounds  on  which  you  have  ventured  to 
publish  an  accusation,  that,  if  believed,  must  prejudice  me 
extremely  in  the  opinion  of  good  men,  especially  in  my  own 
country,  whence  I  was  sent  expressly  to  oppose  the  impo- 
sition of  that  tax.  If  on  such  reconsideration  and  inquiry 
you  find,  as  I  am  persuaded  you  will,  that  you  have  been  im- 
posed upon  by  false  reports,  or  have  too  lightly  given  credit 
to  hearsays  in  a  matter  that  concerns  another's  reputation,  I 
flatter  myself  that  your  equity  will  induce  you  to  do  me  justice, 
by  retracting  that  accusation.  In  confidence  of  this,  I  am, 
with  great  esteem,  Reverend  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and 
most  humble  servant,  B.  Franklin. 

To  Benjamin  Sir, — The  letter  which  you  did  me  tne 
ted  "Monday"  nonor  to  send  to  Gloucester,  I  have  just  re- 
ai  Feb.,  1774.  ceived  in  London,  where  I  have  resided  many 
weeks,  and  am  now  returning  to  Gloucester.  On  inquiry, 
I  find  that  I  was  mistaken  in  some  circumstances  relating 


462  IMPUTA  TIONS   OF  JOSIAH   TUCKER.    [Mr.  59. 

to  your  conduct  about  the  Stamp  Act,  though  right  as  to 
the  substance.  These  errors  shall  be  rectified  the  first 
opportunity.  After  having  assured  you,  that  I  am  no 
dealer  in  anonymous  newspaper  paragraphs,  nor  have  a  con- 
nexion with  any  who  are,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your 
humble  servant,  J.  Tucker. 

To  josiah  Reverend  Sir, — I  received  your  favor  of 
Tuesday,  22  yesterday.  If  the  substance  of  what  you  have 
Feb.,  1774.  charged  me  with  is  right,  I  can  have  but  little 
concern  about  any  mistakes  in  the  circumstances ;  whether 
they  are  rectified  or  not,  will  be  immaterial.  But,  know- 
ing the  substance  to  be  wrong,  and  believing  that  you  can 
have  no  desire  of  continuing  in  an  error,  prejudicial  to  any 
man's  reputation,  I  am  persuaded  you  will  not  take  it  amiss, 
if  I  request  you  to  communicate  to  me  the  particulars  of 
the  information  you  have  received,  that  I  may  have  an 
opportunity  of  examining  them  ;  and  I  flatter  myself  I  shall 
be  able  to  satisfy  you  that  they  are  groundless.  I  propose 
this  method  as  more  decent  than  a  public  altercation,  and 
suiting  better  the  respect  due  to  your  character.  With 
great  regard,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Reverend  Sir,  your 
most  obedient  humble  servant,  B.  Franklin. 

to  Benjamin        Sir, — The  request  made  in  your  last  letter 

ted^Gio'uces-  *s  so  veiT  Just  an<*  reasonable,  that  I  shall 
ter,  24  Feb.,  comply  with  it  very  readily.  It  has  long  ap- 
peared to  me,  that  you  much  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  morality  in  the  methods  you  pursued  for  the 
advancement  of  the  supposed  interests  of  America.  If  it 
can  be  proved,  that  I  have  unjustly  suspected  you,  I  shall 
acknowledge  my  error  with  as  much  satisfaction  as  you  can 


*T.  59.]    IMPUTA  TIONS   OF  JOSIAH  TUCKER.  463 

have  in  reading  my  recantation  of  it.  As  to  the  case  more 
immediately  referred  to  in  your  letters,  I  was  repeatedly 
informed,  that  you  had  solicited  the  late  Mr.  George  Gren- 
ville  for  a  place  or  agency  in  the  distribution  of  stamps  in 
America.  From  which  circumstance  I  myself  concluded, 
that  you  had  made  interest  for  it  on  your  own  account; 
whereas  I  am  now  informed,  there  are  no  positive  proofs  of 
your  having  solicited  to  obtain  such  a  place  for  yourself,  but 
that  there  is  sufficient  evidence  still  existing  of  your  having 
applied  for  it  in  favor  of  another  person.  If  this  latter 
should  prove  to  be  the  fact,  as  I  am  assured  it  will,  I  am 
willing  to  suppose,  from  several  expressions  in  both  your 
letters,  that  you  will  readily  acknowledge  that  the  difference 
in  this  case  between  yourself  and  your  friend,  is  very  imma- 
terial to  the  general  merits  of  the  question.  But,  if  you 
should  have  distinctions  in  this  case,  which  are  above  my 
comprehension,  I  shall  content  myself  with  observing,  that 
your  great  abilities  and  happy  discoveries  deserve  universal 
regard  ;  and  that,  as  on  these  accounts  I  respect  and  esteem 
you,  so  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  very  humble 
servant,  J.  Tucker. 

to  josiah  Reverend  Sir, — I  thank  you  for  the  frank- 
London  26  ness  w^tn  which  you  have  communicated  to  me 
Feb.,  1774.  the  particulars  of  the  information  you  had 
received,  relating  to  my  supposed  application  to  Mr.  Gren- 
ville  for  a  place  in  the  American  stamp-office.  As  I  deny 
that  either  your  former  or  latter  informations  are  true,  it 
seems  incumbent  on  me,  for  your  satisfaction,  to  relate  all 
the  circumstances  fairly  to  you,  that  could  possibly  give 
rise  to  such  mistakes. 

Some  days  after  the  Stamp  Act  was  passed,  to  which  I 
v* 


464        IMPUTATIONS    OF' JOSTAH  TUCKER.        [Mt.  59. 

had  given  all  the  opposition  I  could,  with  Mr.  Grenville, 
I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Whately,  his  secretary,  desiring 
to  see  me  the  next  morning.  I  waited  upon  him  accord- 
ingly, and  found  with  him  several  other  colony  agents. 
He  acquainted  us,  that  Mr.  Grenville  was  desirous  to  make 
the  execution  of  the  act  as  little  inconvenient  and  disagree- 
able to  America  as  possible ;  and  therefore  did  not  think 
of  sending  stamp  officers  from  this  country,  but  wished  to 
have  discreet  and  reputable  persons  appointed  in  each 
province  from  among  the  inhabitants,  such  as  would  be 
acceptable  to  them ;  for,  as  they  were  to  pay  the  tax,  he 
thought  strangers  should  not  have  the  emolument.  Mr. 
Whately  therefore  wished  us  to  name  for  our  respective 
colonies,  informing  us,  that  Mr.  Grenville  would  be  obliged 
to  us  for  pointing  out  to  him  honest  and  responsible  men, 
and  would  pay  great  regard  to  our  nominations.  By  this 
plausible  and  apparently  candid  declaration,  we  were  drawn 
in  to  nominate  ;  and  I  named  for  our  province  Mr.  Hughes, 
saying,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  knew  not  whether  he 
would  accept  of  it,  but,  if  he  did,  I  was  sure  he  would 
execute  the  office  faithfully.  I  soon  after  had  notice  of  his 
appointment.  We  none  of  us,  I  believe,  foresaw  or  im- 
agined, that  this  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  minister 
would  or  could  have  been  called  an  application  of  ours,  and 
adduced  as  a  proof  of  our  approbation  of  the  act  we  had 
been  opposing ;  otherwise  I  think  few  of  us  would  have 
named  at  all ;  I  am  sure  I  should  not.  This,  I  assure  you, 
and  can  prove  to  you  by  living  evidence,  is  a  true  account 
of  the  transaction  in  question,  which,  if  you  compare  with 
that  you  have  been  induced  to  give  of  it  in  your  book  I 
ar"  persuaded  you  will  see  a  difference  that  is  far  from  being 
'   a  distinctio?i  above  your  comprehension." 


Mt.  59.]        IMPUTATIONS   OF  JO  SI  A II   TUCKER.        465 

Permit  me  further  to  remark,  that  your  expression  of 
there  being  "no  positive  proofs  of  my  having  solicited  to 
obtain  such  a  place  for  myself"  implies  that  there  are 
nevertheless  some  circumstantial  proofs  sufficient  at  least  to 
support  a  suspicion.  The  latter  part  however  of  the  same 
sentence,  which  says,  "there  is  sufficient  evidence  still 
existing  of  my  having  applied  for  it  in  favor  of  another 
person,"  must,  I  apprehend,  if  credited,  destroy  that  sus- 
picion, and  be  considered  as  positive  proof  of  the  contrary; 
for,  if  I  had  interest  enough  with  Mr.  Grenville  to  obtain 
that  place  for  another,  is  it  likely  that  it  would  have  been 
refused  me,  had  I  asked  it  for  myself? 

There  is  another  circumstance,  which  I  would  offer  to 
your  candid  consideration.  You  describe  me  as  "changing 
sides,  and  appearing  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Commons 
to  cry  down  the  very  measure  I  had  espoused,  and  direct 
the  storm  that  was  falling  upon  that  minister."  As  this 
must  have  been  after  my  supposed  solicitation  of  the  favor 
for  myself  or  my  friend,  and  Mr.  Grenville  and  Mr. 
Whately  were  both  in  the  House  at  the  time,  and  both 
asked  me  questions,  can  it  be  conceived,  that,  offended  as 
they  must  have  been  with  such  a  conduct  in  me,  neither  of 
them  should  put  me  in  mind  of  this  my  sudden  changing 
of  sides,  or  remark  it  to  the  House,  or  reproach  me  with  it, 
or  require  my  reasons  for  it?  And  yet  all  the  members 
then  present  know,  that  not  a  syllable  of  the  kind  fell  from 
either  of  them,  or  from  any  of  their  party. 

I  persuade  myself  by  this  time  you  begin  to  suspect  you 
may  have  been  misled  by  your  informers.  I  do  not  ask  who 
they  are,  because  I  do  not  wish  to  have  particular  motives 
for  disliking  people,  who  in  general  may  deserve  my  re- 
spect.    They  too  may  have  drawn  consequences  beyond  the 


466  IMPUTATIONS   OF  JO  SI  AH   TUCKER.    [Mt.  59. 

information  they  received  from  others,  and,  hearing  the 
office  had  been  given  to  a  person  of  my  nomination,  might 
as  naturally  suppose  I  had  solicited  it,  as  Dr.  Tucker,  hearing 
that  I  had  solicited  it,  might  "  conclude"  it  was  for  myself. 

I  desire  you  to  believe,  that  I  take  kindly,  as  I  ought, 
your  freely  mentioning  to  me  "that  it  has  long  appeared 
to  you,  that  I  much  exceeded  the  bounds  of  morality  in  the 
methods  I  pursued  for  the  advancement  of  the  supposed 
interests  of  America."  I  am  sensible  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  truth  in  the  adage,  that  our  sins  and  our  debts  are  always 
more  than  we  take  them  to  be ;  and  though  I  cannot  at 
present,  on  examination  of  my  conscience,  charge  myself 
with  any  immorality  of  that  kind,  it  becomes  me  to  suspect, 
that  what  has  long  appeared  to  you  may  have  some  founda- 
tion. You  are  so  good  as  to  add,  that,  "  if  it  can  be 
proved  you  have  unjustly  suspected  me,  you  shall  have  a 
satisfaction  in  acknowledging  the  error."  It  is  often  a 
thing  hard  to  prove  that  suspicions  are  unjust,  even  when 
we  know  what  they  are ;  and  harder  when  we  are  unac- 
quainted with  them.  I  must  presume,  therefore,  that  in 
mentioning  them,  you  had  an  intention  of  communicating 
the  grounds  of  them  to  me  if  I  should  request  it,  which  I 
now  do,  and  I  assure  you,  with  a  sincere  desire  and  design 
of  amending  what  you  may  show  me  to  have  been  wrong  in 
my  conduct,  and  to  thank  you  for  the  admonition.  In  your 
writings  I  appear  a  bad  man  ;  but,  if  I  am  such,  and  you  can 
thus  help  me  to  become  in  reality  a  good  one,  I  shall  esteem 
it  more  than  a  sufficient  reparation  to,  Reverend  Sir,  your 
most  obedient  humble  servant,  B.  Franklin.* 


*  A  memorandum  was  found  appended  to  the  rough  draft  of  this  letter, 
in  the  handwriting  of  the  author,  dated  February  7,  1775,  in  which  he  said, 
"  No  answer  has  yet  been  received.''  In  a  future  edition  of  his  work,  how- 
ever  Dean  Tucker  omitted  the  offensive  passages. — ED. 


The  examina- 
tion of  Dr. 
Benjamin 
Franklin,  in 
the  British 
House  of 

Commons,  re- 
lative to  the 
repeal  of  the 
American 
Stamp  Act,  in 
1766.* 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Franklin's  Examination  before  the  House  of  Commons. 
I766. 

From  the  journal  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
as  given  by  Mr.  Vaughan. 

"February  $d,  1766.  Benjamin  Franklin 
and  a  number  of  other  persons  ordered  to  at- 
tend the  committee  of  the  whole  House,  to 
whom  it  was  referred  to  consider  farther  the 
several  papers,  which  were  presented  to  the 
House  by  Mr.  Secretary  Conway. 

"February  i$th.     Benjamin  Franklin,  hav- 


*  As  soon  as  the  Stamp  Act  was  promulgated  in  the  colonies,  a  cloud  of 
petitions  from  their  various  assemblies  was  showered  upon  Parliament  for 
its  repeal.  The  stamped  paper  was  rejected  as  if  it  were  poisoned ;  vessels 
were  forbidden  to  land  it ;  the  distributors  were  compelled  to  resign  their 
commissions ;  Hughes  dared  not  show  himself  in  the  streets,  nor  did  Frank- 
lin entirely  escape.  A  caricature  of  the  period  represents  the  devil  whis- 
pering in  his  ear:  "  Ben,  you  shall  be  my  agent  throughout  my  dominions." 
His  house  and  family  even  were  supposed  at  one  time  to  be  in  peril  from 
the  mob,  as  appears  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  him  by 
his  wife  on  the  22d  September : 

"  You  will  see  by  the  papers  what  work  has  happened  in  other  places,  and 
tjomething  has  been  said  relative  to  raising  a  mob  in  this  place.  I  was  for 
nine  days  kept  in  a  continual  hurry  by  people  to  remove ;  and  Sally  was 
persuaded  to  go  to  Burlington  (the  residence  of  her  brother,  the  governor) 
for  safety  ;  but  on  Mondiy  last  we  had  very  great  rejoicings  on  account  of 
42  467 


468  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     [^T.  60 

ing  passed   through  his  examination,  was  excepted   from 
farther  attendance. 

"February  24th.     The  resolutions  of  the  committee  were 
reported  by  the  chairman,  Mr.  Fuller;  their  seventh  and 


the  change  of  the  ministry,  and  a  preparation  for  bonfires  at  night,  and  sev- 
eral houses  threatened  to  be  pulled  down. 

"  Cousin  Davenport  came  and  told  me  that  more  than  twenty  people  had 
told  him  it  was  his  duty  to  be  with  me.  I  said  I  was  pleased  to  receive  civility 
from  any  body,  so  he  staid  with  me  some  time ;  towards  night  I  said  he 
should  fetch  a  gun  or  two,  as  we  had  none.  I  sent  to  ask  my  brother  to 
come  and  bring  his  gun  also,  so  we  [turned]  one  room  into  a  magazine  ;  I 
ordered  some  sort  of  defence  up-stairs,  such  as  I  could  manage  myself.  I 
said  when  I  was  advised  to  remove,  that  I  was  very  sure  you  had  done 
nothing  to  hurt  anybody,  nor  had  I  given  any  offence  to  any  person  at  all, 
nor  would  I  be  made  uneasy  by  anybody,  nor  would  I  stir  or  show  the  least 
uneasiness,  but  if  any  one  came  to  disturb  me,  I  should  show  a  proper  re- 
sentment, and  I  should  be  very  much  affronted  with  anybody. 

"  Sally  was  gone  with  Miss  Rose  to  see  Captain  Real's  daughter,  and  heard 
the  report  there,  and  came  home  to  be  with  me ;  but  I  had  sent  her  word 
not  to  come.  I  was  told  there  were  eight  hundred  men  ready  to  assist  any 
one  that  should  be  molested. 

*  •  *  «•  Billy  (the  Governor  of  New  Jersey)  came  down  to  ask  us  up 
to  Burlington.  I  consented  to  Sally's  going,  but  I  will  not  stir,  as  I  really 
don't  think  it  would  be  right  in  me  to  stir  or  show  the  least  uneasiness  at 
all.     *    *    * 

"  It  is  Mr.  Samuel  Smith  that  is  setting  the  people  mad  by  telling  them  it 
was  you  that  had  planned  the  Stamp  Act,  and  that  you  are  endeavoring  to 
get  the  Test  Act  brought  over  here." 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  America  when  the  subject  was  again  brought 
before  Parliament  in  the  beginning  of  '66,  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham  having 
displaced  Mr.  Grenville. 

The  new  ministers  resolved  to  recommend  a  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
While  the  question  was  under  debate  in  Parliament,  a  motion  which  proba- 
bly originated  with  the  ministers,  who  wee  now  striving  to  effect  a  repeal  ot 
the  act,  was  adopted,  that  Franklin  be  cal  ed  before  the  House  and  examined 
respecting  the  state  of  affairs  in  America.  This  is  the  report  of  his  examina- 
tion. 

There  is  nothing  he  ever  wrote  in  which  Franklin  exhibited  more  of  all 
the  qualities  which  distinguished  him  among  men  than  his  replies  to  the 
questions  put  to  him  on  this  occasion. — Ed. 


<Et.  6o.]     EXAMINATION  BY   THE   COMMONS.  469 

last  resolution  setting  forth,  that  it  was  their  opinion  that 
the  House  be  moved,  that  leave  be  given  to  bring  in  a  bill 
to  repeal  the  Stamp  Act." 

1 .  Q.  What  is  your  name,  and  place  of  abode  ? 
A.   Franklin,  of  Philadelphia. 

2.  Q.  Do  the  Americans  pay  any  considerable  taxes 
among  themselves? 

A.   Certainly  many,  and  very  heavy  taxes. 

3.  Q.  What  are  the  present  taxes  in  Pennsylvania,  laid 
by  the  laws  of  the  colony  ? 

A.  There  are  taxes  on  all  estates  real  and  personal; 
a  poll  tax ;  a  tax  on  all  offices,  professions,  trades,  and 
businesses,  according  to  their  profits ;  an  excise  on  all  wine, 
rum,  and  other  spirits  ;  and  a  duty  of  ten  pounds  per  head 
on  all  negroes  imported,  with  some  other  duties. 

4.  Q.  For  what  purposes  are  those  taxes  laid  ? 

A.  For  the  support  of  the  civil  and  military  estab- 
lishments of  the  country,  and  to  discharge  the  heavy  debt 
contracted  in  the  last  war. 

5.  Q.  How  long  are  those  taxes  to  continue? 

A.  Those  for  discharging  the  debt  are  to  continue  till 
1772,  and  longer,  if  the  debt  should  not  be  then  all  dis- 
charged.    The  others  must  always  continue. 

6.  Q.  Was  it  not  expected  that  the  debt  would  have 
been  sooner  discharged? 

A.  It  was,  when  the  peace  was  made  with  France  and 
Spain.  But,  a  fresh  war  breaking  out  with  the  Indians,  a 
fresh  load  of  debt  was  incurred ;  and  the  taxes,  of  course, 
continued  longer  by  a  new  law. 

7.  Q.  Are  not  all  the  people  very  able  to  pay  those 
taxes? 


470  EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.     \_Mt.  60. 

A.  No.  The  frontier  counties,  all  along  the  continent, 
having  been  frequently  ravaged  by  the  enemy  and  greatly 
impoverished,  are  able  to  pay  very  little  tax.  And  there- 
fore, in  consideration  of  their  distresses,  our  late  tax  laws 
do  expressly  favor  those  counties,  excusing  the  sufferers; 
and  I  suppose  the  same  is  done  in  other  governments. 

8.  Q.  Are  not  you  concerned  in  the  management  of  the 
post-office  in  America? 

A.  Yes.  I  am  deputy  -  postmaster  -  general  of  North 
America. 

9.  Q.  Don't  you  think  the  distribution  of  stamps  by 
post  to  all  the  inhabitants  very  practicable,  if  there  was  no 
opposition  ? 

A.  The  posts  only  go  along  the  seacoasts ;  they  do  not, 
except  in  a  few  instances,  go  back  into  the  country ;  and, 
if  they  did,  sending  for  stamps  by  post  would  occasion 
an  expense  of  postage  amounting  in  many  cases  to  much 
more  than  that  of  the  stamps  themselves. 

10.  Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Newfoundland  ? 
A.  I  never  was  there. 

11.  Q.  Do  you  know  whether  there  are  any  post-roads 
on  that  island  ? 

A.  I  have  heard  that  there  are  no  roads  at  all,  but  that 
the  communication  between  one  settlement  and  another 
is  by  sea  only. 

12.  Q.   Can  you  disperse  the  stamps  by  post  in  Canada? 
A.  There  is  only  a  post  between  Montreal  and  Quebec. 

The  inhabitants  live  so  scattered  and  remote  from  each 
other  in  that  vast  country,  that  posts  cannot  be  supported 
among  them,  and  therefore  they  cannot  get  stamps  per 
post.  The  English  colonies,  too,  along  the  frontiers  are 
very  thinly  settled. 


^Et.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.  ^ji 

13.  Q.  From  the  thinness  of  the  back  settlements,  would 
not  the  Stamp  Act  be  extremely  inconvenient  to  the  inhab- 
itants, if  executed  ? 

A.  To  be  sure  it  would ;  as  many  of  the  inhabitants 
could  not  get  stamps  when  they  had  occasion  for  them 
without  taking  long  journeys,  and  spending  perhaps  three  or 
four  pounds,  that  the  crown  might  get  sixpence. 

14.  Q.  Are  not  the  colonies,  from  their  circumstances, 
very  able  to  pay  the  stamp  duty  ? 

A.  In  my  opinion  there  is  not  gold  and  silver  enough 
in  the  colonies  to  pay  the  stamp. duty  for  one  year.* 

15.  Q.  Don't  you  know  that  the  money  arising  from  the 
stamps  was  all  to  be  laid  out  in  America? 

A.  I  know  it  is  appropriated  by  the  act  to  the  American 
service;  but  it  will  be  spent  in  the  conquered  colonies, 
where  the  soldiers  are ;  not  in  the  colonies  that  pay  it. 

16.  Q.  Is  there  not  a  balance  of  trade  due  from  the 
colonies  where  the  troops  are  posted,  that  will  bring  back 
the  money  to  the  old  colonies  ? 

A.  I  think  not.  I  believe  very  little  would  come  back. 
I  know  of  no  trade  likely  to  bring  it  back.     I  think  it 


*  The  Stamp  Act  said,  "  that  the  Americans  shall  have  no  commerce, 
make  no  exchange  of  property  with  each  other,  neither  purchase,  nor  grant, 
nor  recover  debts  ;  they  shall  neither  marry  nor  make  their  wills,  unless  they 
pay  such  and  such  sums"  in  specie  for  the  stamps  which  must  give  validity 
to  the  proceedings.  The  operation  of  such  a  tax,  had  it  obtained  the  consent 
of  the  people,  appeared  inevitable ;  and  its  annual  productiveness,  on  its  in- 
troduction, was  estimated,  by  its  proposer  in  the  House  of  Commons  at  the 
committee  for  supplies,  at  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling.  The 
colonies  being  already  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  having  paper  money,  by 
sending  to  Biitain  the  specie  they  collected  in  foreign  trade,  in  order  to  make 
up  for  the  deficiency  of  their  other  returns  for  British  manufactures,  there 
were  doubts  whether  there  could  remain  specie  sufficient  to  answer  the 
tax.— B.  V. 
42* 


472  EXAMINA  HON  B  Y   THE    COMMONS.     [JEt.  60 

would  come,  from  the  colonies  where  it  was  spent,  directly 
to  England  ;  for  I  have  always  observed,  that  in  every  colony 
the  more  plenty  the  means  of  remittance  to  England,  the 
more  goods  are  sent  for,  and  the  more  trade  with  England 
carried  on. 

17.  Q.  What  number  of  white  inhabitants  do  you  think 
there  are  in  Pennsylvania  ? 

A.  I  suppose  there  may  be  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand. 

18.  Q.  What  number  of  them  are  Quakers? 
A.  Perhaps  a  third. 

19.  Q.  What  number  of  Germans? 

A.  Perhaps   another   third ;    but    I    cannot   speak  witn 
certainty.  » 

20.  Q.  Have  any  number  of  the  Germans  seen  service, 
as  soldiers,  in  Europe  ? 

A.  Yes,  many  of  them,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

21.  Q.  Are  they  as  much  dissatisfied  with  the   stamp 
duty  as  the  English  ? 

A.  Yes,  and  more ;  and  with  reason,  as  their  stamps  are, 
in  many  cases,  to  be  double.* 

22.  Q.  How  many  white  men  do  you  suppose  there  are 
in  North  America? 


*  The  Stamp  Act  provided,  that  a  double  duty  should  be  laid  "  where  the 
instrument,  proceedings,  &c,  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed  within 
the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  in  any  other  than  the  English  language." 
This  measure,  it  is  presumed,  appeared  to  be  suggested  by  motives  of  con- 
venience, and  the  policy  of  assimilating  persons  of  foreign  to  those  of  British 
descent,  and  preventing  their  interference  in  the  conduct  of  law  business  till 
this  change  should  be  effected.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  deemed 
too  precipitate,  immediately  to  extend  this  clause  to  newly-conquered  coun- 
tries. An  exemption  therefore  was  granted,  in  this  particular,  with  respect 
to  Canada  and  Grenada,  for  the  space  of  five  years,  to  be  reckoned  from  the 
commencement  of  the  duty.     See  the  Stamp  Act. — B.  V. 


4vr.  60. ]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE   COMMONS.  473 

A  About  three  hundred  thousand,  from  sixteen  to  sixty 
years  of  age.* 

23.  Q.  What  may  be  the  amount  of  one  year's  imports 
into  Pennsylvania  from  Britain  ? 

A.  I  have  been  informed  that  our  merchants  compute 
the  imports  from  Britain  to  be  above  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds. 

24.  Q.  What  may  be  the  amount  of  the  produce  of  your 
province  exported  to  Britain  ? 

A.  It  must  be  small,  as  we  produce  little  that  is  wanted 
in  Britain.  I  suppose  it  cannot  exceed  forty  thousand 
pounds. 

25.  Q.  How  then  do  you  pay  the  balance? 

A.  The  balance  is  paid  by  our  produce  carried  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  sold  in  our  own  islands,  or  to  the  French, 
Spaniards,  Danes,  and  Dutch  ;  by  the  same  produce  carried 
to  other  colonies  in  North  America,  as  to  New  England, 
Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland,  Carolina,  and  Georgia;  by 
the  same,  carried  to  different  parts  of  Europe,  as  Spain, 
Portugal,  and  Italy.  In  all  which  places  we  receive  either 
money,  bills  of  exchange,  or  commodities  that  suit  for  re- 
mittance to  Britain  ;  which,  together  with  all  the  profits  on 
the  industry  of  our  merchants  and  mariners,  arising  in  those 
circuitous  voyages,  and  the  freights  made  by  their  ships, 
centre  finally  in  Britain  to  discharge  the  balance,  and  pay 
for  British  manufactures  continually  used  in  the  provinces, 
or  sold  to  foreigners  by  our  traders. 


*  Strangers  excluded,  some  parts  of  the  northern  colonies  doubled  then 
numbers  in  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  ;  to  the  southward  they  were  longer ;  but, 
taking  one  with  another,  they  had  doubled,  by  natural  generation  only,  once 
in  twenty-five  years.  Pennsylvania,  including  strangers,  had  doubled  in 
about  sixteen  years. — B.  V. 


474  EXAMINA  HON  B  Y  THE    COMMONS.     [ALt.  60. 

26.  Q.  Have  you  heard  of  any  difficulties  lately  laid  on 
the  Spanish  trade  ? 

A.  Yes ;  I  have  heard,  that  it  has  been  greatly  obstructed 
by  some  new  regulations,  and  by  the  English  men-of-war 
and  cutters  stationed  all  along  the  coast  in  America. 

27.  Q.  Do  you  think  it  right  that  America  should  be 
protected  by  this  country  and  pay  no  part  of  the  expense  ? 

A.  That  is  not  the  case.  The  colonies  raised,  clothed, 
and  paid,  during  the  last  war,  near  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  and  spent  many  millions. 

28.  Q.  Were  you  not  reimbursed  by  Parliament  ? 

A.  We  were  only  reimbursed  what,  in  your  opinion,  we 
had  advanced  beyond  our  proportion,  or  beyond  what 
might  reasonably  be  expected  from  us ;  and  it  was  a  very 
small  part  of  what  we  spent.'  Pennsylvania,  in  particular, 
disbursed  about  five  hundred  thousand  pounds,  and  the 
reimbursements,  in  the  whole,  did  not  exceed  sixty  thou- 
sand pounds. 

29.  Q.  You  have  said  that  you  pay  heavy  taxes  in  Penn- 
sylvania ;  what  do  they  amount  to  in  the  pound  ? 

A.  The  tax  on  all  estates,  real  and  personal,  is  eighteen 
pence  in  the  pound,  fully  rated ;  and  the  tax  on  the  profits 
of  trades  and  professions,  with  other  taxes,  do,  I  suppose, 
make  full  half  a  crown  in  the  pound. 

30.  Q.  Do  you  know  any  thing  of  the  rate  of  exchange 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  whether  it  has  fallen  lately? 

A.  It  is  commonly  from  one  hundred  and  seventy  to  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five.  I  have  heard,  that  it  has  fallen 
lately  from  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  and  a  half;  owing,  I  suppose,  to  their  lessening 
their  orders  for  goods;  and,  when  their  debts  to  this  country 
are  paid,  I  think  the  exchange  will  probably  be  at  par. 


Mr.  6a]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  475 

31.  Q.  Do  you  not  think  the  people  of  America  would 
submit  to  pay  the  stamp  duty,  if  it  was  moderated  ? 

A.  No,  never,  unless  compelled  by  force  of  arms. 

32.  Q.  Are  not  the  taxes  in  Pennsylvania  laid  on  un- 
equally, in  order  to  burden  the  English  trade ;  particularly 
the  tax  on  professions  and  business  ? 

A.  It  is  not  more  burdensome  in  proportion  than  the  tax 
on  lands.  It  is  intended  and  supposed  to  take  an  equal 
proportion  of  profits. 

33.  Q.  How  is  the  assembly  composed  ?  Of  what  kinds 
of  people  are  the  members;  landholders  or  traders? 

A.  It  is  composed  of  landholders,  merchants,  and  artifi- 
cers. 

34.  Q.  Are  not  the  majority  landholders  ? 
A.  I  believe  they  are. 

35.  Q.  Do  not  they,  as  much  as  possible,  shift  the  tax 
off  from  the  land,  to  ease  that,  and  lay  the  burden  heavier 
on  trade  ? 

A.  I  have  never  understood  it  so.  I  never  heard  such  a 
thing  suggested.  And  indeed  an  attempt  of  that  kind  could 
answer  no  purpose.  The  merchant  or  trader  is  always 
skilled  in  figures,  and  ready  with  his  pen  and  ink.  If 
unequal  burdens  are  laid  on  his  trade,  he  puts  an  additional 
price  on  his  goods;  and  the  consumers,  who  are  chiefly 
landholders,  finally  pay  the  greatest  part,  if  not  the  whole. 

36.  Q.  What  was  the  temper  of  America  towards  Great 
Britain  before  the  year  1763?* 


*  In  the  year  1733,  "  for  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  our  sugar  colonies 
in  America,"  and  "  for  remedying  discouragements  of  planters,"  duties  were 
"given  and  granted"  to  George  the  Second,  upon  all  rum,  spirits,  molasses, 
syrups,  sugar,  and  paneles  of  foreign  growth,  produce,  and  manufacture, 
imported  into  the  colonies.     This  regulation  0/ trade  for  the  benefit  of  the 


4y6  EXAMINA  TION  B  Y  THE    COMMONS,     [^t.  60. 

A.  The  best  in  the  world.  They  submitted  willingly  to 
the  government  of  the  crown,  and  paid,  in  their  courts, 
obedience  to  the  acts  of  Parliament.  Numerous  as  the 
people  are  in  the  several  old  provinces,  they  cost  you 
nothing  in  forts,  citadels,  garrisons,  or  armies,  to  keep  them 
in  subjection.  They  were  governed  by  this  country  at  the 
expense  only  of  a  little  pen,  ink,  and  paper ;  they  were  led 
by  a  thread.  They  had  not  only  a  respect,  but  an  affection 
for  Great  Britain ;  for  its  laws,  its  customs  and  manners, 
and  even  a  fondness  for  its  fashions,  that  greatly  increased 
the  commerce.  Natives  of  Britain  were  always  treated  with 
particular  regard  ;  to  be  an  Old-England  man  was,  of  itself, 
a  character  of  some  respect,  and  gave  a  kind  of  rank 
among  us. 

37.    Q.  And  what  is  their  temper  now? 


general  empire  was  acquiesced  in,  notwithstanding  the  introduction  of  the 
novel  terms  "give  and  grant."  But  the  act,  which  was  made  only  for  the 
term  of  five  years,  and  had  been  several  times  renewed  in  the  reign  of  George 
the  Second,  and  once  in  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  was  renewed  again 
in  the  year  1763,  in  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  and  exte?ided  to  other 
articles  upon  new  and  altered  grounds.  It  was  stated  in  the  preamble  to 
this  act,  "  that  it  was  expedient  that  new  provisions  and  regulations  should 
be  established  for  improving  the  revenue  of  this  kingdom  ;"  that  it  "  was  just 
and  necessary  that  a  revenue  should  be  raised  in  America  for  defending, 
protecting,  and  securing  the  same;"  "and  that  the  Commons  of  Great 
Britain,  desirous  of  making  some  provision  towards  raising  the  said  revenue 
in  America,  have  resolved  to  give  and  grant  to  his  Majesty  the  several  rates 
and  duties,"  &c.  Mr.  Mauduit,  agent  for  Massachusetts  Bay,  tells  us,  that 
he  was  instructed  in  the  following  terms  to  oppose  Mr.  Grenville's  taxing 
system.  "  You  are  to  remonstrate  against  these  measures,  and,  if  possible, 
to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  Sugar  Act,  and  prevent  the  imposition  of  any 
further  duties  or  taxes  on  the  colonies.  Measures  will  be  taken  that  you 
may  be  joined  by  all  the  other  agents.     Boston,  June  14th,  1764." 

The  question  proposed  to  Dr.  Franklin  alludes  to  this  sugar  act  in  1763. 
Dr.  Franklin's  answer  particularly  merits  the  attention  of  the  historian  and 
he  politician. — B.  V. 


Mt.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.  47 y 

A.  O,  very  much  altered. 

38.  Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  authority  of  Parliament 
to  make  laws  for  America  questioned  till  lately  ? 

A.  The  authority  of  Parliament  was  allowed  to  be  valid 
in  all  laws,  except  such  as  should  lay  internal  taxes.  It  was 
never  disputed  in  laying  duties  to  regulate  commerce. 

39.  Q.  In  what  proportion  hath  population  increased  in 
America? 

A.  I  think  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  provinces  together, 
taken  at  a  medium,  double  in  about  twenty-five  years.  But 
their  demand  for  British  manufactures  increases  much  faster; 
as  the  consumption  is  not  merely  in  proportion  to  their 
numbers,  but  grows  with  the  growing  abilities  of  the  same 
numbers  to  pay  for  them.  In  1723,  the  whole  importation 
from  Britain  to  Pennsylvania  was  about  fifteen  thousand 
pounds  sterling  ;  it  is  now  near  half  a  million. 

40.  Q.  In  what  light  did  the  people  of  America  use  to 
consider  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  ? 

A.  They  considered  the  Parliament  as  the  great  bulwark 
and  security  of  their  liberties  and  privileges,  and  always 
spoke  of  it  with  the  utmost  respect  and  veneration.  Arbi- 
trary ministers,  they  thought,  might  possibly,  at  times,  at- 
tempt to  oppress  them  ;  but  they  relied  on  it,  that  the  Par- 
liament, on  application,  would  always  give  redress.  They 
remembered,  with  gratitude,  a  strong  instance  of  this,  when 
a  bill  was  brought  into  Parliament,  with  a  clause  to  make 
royal  instructions  laws  in  the  colonies,  which  the  House  of 
Commons  would  not  pass,  and  it  was  thrown  out. 

41.  Q.  And  have  they  not  still  the  same  respect  for 
Parliament  ? 

A.  No,  it  is  greatly  lessened. 

42.  Q.  To  what  cause  is  that  owing? 


478  EXAMINATION  BY  THE   COMMONS.     [Mt.  60. 

A.  To  a  concurrence  of  causes;  the  restraints  lately  laid 
on  their  trade,  by  which  the  bringing  of  foreign  gold  and 
silver  into  the  colonies  was  prevented  ;  the  prohibition  of 
making  paper  money  among  themselves,  and  then  demand- 
ing a  new  and  heavy  tax  by  stamps,  taking  away,  at  the 
same  time,  trials  by  juries,  anri  refusing  to  receive  and  hear 
their  humble  petitions. 

43.  Q.  Don't  you  think  they  would  submit  to  the 
Stamp  Act,  if  it  was  modified,  the  obnoxious  parts  taken 
out,  and  the  duty  reduced  to  some  particulars  of  small  mo- 
ment? 

A.  No,  they  will  never  submit  to  it. 

44.  Q.  What  do  you  think  is  the  reason  that  the  people 
in  America  increase  faster  than  in  England? 

A.  Because  they  marry  younger,  and  more  generally. 

45.  Q.   Why  so? 

A.  Because  any  young  couple,  that  are  industrious,  may 
easily  obtain  land  of  their  own,  on  which  they  can  raise  a 
family. 

46.  Q.  Are  not  the  lower  ranks  of  people  more  at  their 
ease  in  America  than  in  England  ? 

A.  They  may  be  so,  if  they  are  sober  and  diligent,  as 
they  are  better  paid  for  their  labor. 

47.  Q.  What  is  your  opinion  of  a  future  tax,  imposed  on 
the  same  principle  with  that  of  the  Stamp  Act?  How 
would  the  Americans  receive  it  ? 

A.  Just  as  they  do  this.     They  would  not  pay  it. 

48.  Q.  Have  not  you  heard  of  the  resolutions  of  this 
House,  and  of  the  House  of  Lords,  asserting  the  right  of 
Pa.liament  relating  to  America,  including  a  power  to  tax 
the  people  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  I  have  heard  of  such  resolutions. 


JET.  66.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  47 g 

49.  Q.  What  will  be  the  opinion  of  the  Americans  on 
those  resolutions? 

A.  They  will  think  them  unconstitutional  and  unjust. 

50.  Q.  Was  it  an  opinion  in  America  before  1763,  that 
the  Parliament  had  no  right  to  lay  taxes  and  duties  there  ? 

A.  I  never  heard  any  objection  to  the  right  of  laying 
duties  to  regulate  commerce ;  but  a  right  to  lay  internal 
taxes  was  never  supposed  to  be  in  Parliament,  as  we  are  not 
represented  there. 

51.  Q.  On  what  do  you  found  your  opinion,  that  the 
people  in  America  made  any  such  distinction? 

A.  I  know  that  whenever  the  subject  has  occurred  in  con- 
versation where  I  have  been  present,  it  has  appeared  to  be 
the  opinion  of  every  one,  that  we  could  not  be  taxed  by  a 
Parliament  wherein  we  were  not  represented.  But  the  pay- 
ment of  duties  laid  t>y  an  act  of  Parliament,  as  regulations 
of  commerce,  was  never  disputed. 

52.  Q.  But  can  you  name  any  act  of  assembly,  or  public 
act  of  any  of  your  governments,  that  made  such  distinction  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  there  was  any ;  I  think  there  was 
never  an  occasion  to  make  any  such  act,  till  now  that  you 
have  attempted  to  tax  us ;  that  has  occasioned  resolutions 
of  assembly,  declaring  the  distinction,  in  which  I  think 
every  assembly  on  the  continent,  and  every  member  in 
every  assembly,  have  been  unanimous. 

53-  Q-  What,  then,  could  occasion  conversations  on 
that  subject  before  that  time  ? 

A.  There  was  in  1754  a  proposition  made,  (I  think  it 
came  from  hence,)  that  in  case  of  a  war,  which  was  then 
apprehended,  the  governors  of  the  colonies  should  meet, 
and  order  the  levying  of  troops,  building  of  forts,  and  tak- 
ing every  other  necessary  measure  for  the  general  defence  ; 
43  W 


480  EXAMINA  77 ON  B  Y  THE    COMMONS.     \_JEt,  60. 

and  should  draw  on  the  treasury  here  for  the  sums  expended, 
which  were  afterwards  to  be  raised  in  the  colonies  by  a 
general  tax,  to  be  laid  on  them  by  act  of  Parliament. 
This  occasioned  a  good  deal  of  conversation  on  the  subject ; 
and  the  general  opinion  was,  that  the  Parliament  neither 
would  nor  could  lay  any  tax  on  us,  till  we  were  duly  repre- 
sented in  Parliament ;  because  it  was  not  just,  nor  agree- 
able to  the  nature  of  an  English  constitution. 

54.  Q.  Don't  you  know  there  was  a  time  in  New  York, 
when  it  was  under  consideration  to  make  an  application  to 
Parliament  to  lay  taxes  on  that  colony,  upon  a  deficiency 
arising  from  the  assembly's  refusing  or  neglecting  to  raise  the 
necessary  supplies  for  the  support  of  the  civil  government? 

A.  I  never  heard  of  it. 

55.  Q.  There  was  such  an  application  under  considera- 
tion in  New  York ;  and  do  you  apprehend  they  could  sup- 
pose the  right  of  Parliament  to  lay  a  tax  in  America  was 
only  local,  and  confined  to  the  case  of  a  deficiency  in  a  par- 
ticular colony,  by  a  refusal  of  its  assembly  to  raise  the 
necessary  supplies? 

A.  They  could  not  suppose  such  a  case,  as  that  the  assem- 
bly would  not  raise  the  necessary  supplies  to  support  its  own 
government.  An  assembly  that  would  refuse  it  must  want 
common  sense  \  which  cannot  be  supposed.  I  think  there 
was  never  any  such  case  at  New  York,  and  that  it  must  be  a 
misrepresentation,  or  the  fact  must  be  misunderstood.  I 
know  there  have  been  some  attempts,  by  ministerial  instruc- 
tions from  hence,  to  oblige  the  assemblies  to  settle  perma- 
nent salaries  on  governors,  which  they  wisely  refused  to  do; 
but  1  believe  no  assembly  of  New  York,  or  any  other  colony, 
ever  refused  duly  to  support  government  by  proper  allow- 
ances, from  time  to  time,  to  public  officers. 


-«t.  6o.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE   COMMONS.  481 

56.  Q.  But,  in  case  a  governor,  acting  by  instruction, 
should  call  on  an  assembly  to  raise  the  necessary  supplies, 
and  the  assembly  should  refuse  to  do  it,  do  you  not  think 
it  would  then  be  for  the  good  of  the  people  of  the  colony, 
as  well  as  necessary  to  government,  that  the  Parliament 
should  tax  them  ? 

A.  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  necessary.  If  an  assembly 
could  possibly  be  so  absurd,  as  to  refuse  raising  the  supplies 
requisite  for  the  maintenance  of  government  among  them, 
they  could  not  long  remain  in  such  a  situation ;  the  dis- 
orders and  confusion  occasioned  by  it  must  soon  bring  them 
to  reason. 

57.  Q.  If  it  should  not,  ought  not  the  right  to  be  in 
Great  Britain  of  applying  a  remedy? 

A.  A  right,  only  to  be  used  in  such  a  case,  I  should  have 
no  objection  to ;  supposing  it  to  be  used  merely  for  the 
good  of  the  people  of  the  colony. 

58.  Q.  But  who  is  to  judge  of  that,  Britain  or  the  colony? 
A.  Those  that  feel  can  best  judge. 

59.  Q.  You  say  the  colonies  have  always  submitted  to 
external  taxes,  and  object  to  the  right  of  Parliament  only 
in  laying  internal  taxes ;  now  can  you  show,  that  there  is 
any  kind  of  difference  between  the  two  taxes  to  the  colony 
on  which  they  may  be  laid  ? 

A.  I  think  the  difference  is  very  great.  An  external  tax 
is  a  duty  laid  on  commodities  imported  ;  that  duty  is  added 
to  the  first  cost  and  other  charges  on  the  commodity,  and, 
when  it  is  offered  to  sale,  makes  a  part  of  the  price.  If  the 
people  do  not  like  it  at  that  price,  they  refuse  it ;  they  are 
not  obliged  to  pay  it.  But  an  internal  tax  is  forced  from 
the  people  without  their  consent,  if  not  laid  by  their  own 
representatives.       The  Stamp  Act  says,  we  shall  have  no 


482  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     \Mx.  60. 

commerce,  make  no  exchange  of  property  with  each  other, 
neither  purchase,  nor  grant,  nor  recover  debts ;  we  shall 
neither  marry  nor  make  our  wills,  unless  we  pay  such  and 
such  sums ;  and  thus  it  is  intended  to  extort  our  money  from 
us,  or  ruin  us  by  the  consequences  of  refusing  to  pay  it. 

60.  Q.  But  supposing  the  external  tax  or  duty  to  be  laid 
on  the  necessaries  of  life,  imported  into  your  colony,  will 
not  that  be  the  same  thing  in  its  effects  as  an  internal 
tax? 

A.  I  do  not  know  a  single  article  imported  into  the 
northern  colonies,  but  what  they  can  either  do  without,  or 
make  themselves. 

61.  Q.  Don't  you  think  cloth  from  England  absolutely 
necessary  to  them  ? 

A.  No,  by  no  means  absolutely  necessary ;  with  industry 
and  good  management,  they  may  very  well  supply  them- 
selves with  all  they  want. 

62.  Q.  Will  it  not  take  a  long  time  to  establish  that 
manufacture  among  them ;  and  must  they  not  in  the  mean 
while  suffer  greatly? 

A.  I  think  not.  They  have  made  a  surprising  progress 
already.  And  I  am  of  opinion,  that  before  their  old  clothes 
are  worn  out,  they  will  have  new  ones  of  their  own  making. 

63.  Q.  Can  they  possibly  find  wool  enough  in  North 
America? 

A.  They  have  taken  steps  to  increase  the  wool.  They 
entered  into  general  combinations  to  eat  no  more  lamb; 
and  very  few  lambs  were  killed  last  year.  This  course,  per- 
sisted in,  will  soon  make  a  prodigious  difference  in  the 
quantity  of  wool.  And  the  establishing  of  great  manufac- 
tories, like  those  in  the  clothing  towns  here,  is  not  neces- 
sary, as  it  is  where  the  business  is  to  be  carried  on  for  the 


Et.  6o.j     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  483 

purposes  of  trade.      The  people  will  all  spin,  and  work  for 
themselves,  in  their  own  houses. 

64.  Q.  Can  there  be  wool  and  manufacture  enough  in 
one  or  two  years  ? 

A.  In  three  years,  I  think  there  may. 

65.  Q.  Does  not  the  severity  of  the  winter,  in  the 
northern  colonies,  occasion  the  wool  to  be  of  bad  quality? 

A.  No ;  the  wool  is  very  fine  and  good. 

66.  Q.  In  the  more  southern  colonies,  as  in  Virginia, 
don't  you  know,  that  the  wool  is  coarse,  and  only  a  kind 
of  hair? 

A.  I  don't  know  it.  I  never  heard  it.  Yet  I  have 
been  sometimes  in  Virginia.  I  cannot  say  I  ever  took  par- 
ticular notice  of  the  wool  there,  but  I  believe  it  is  good, 
though  I  cannot  speak  positively  of  it ;  but  Virginia  and  the 
colonies  south  of  it  have  less  occasion  for  wool ;  their  win- 
ters are  short,  and  not  very  severe ;  and  they  can  very  well 
clothe  themselves  with  linen  and  cotton  of  their  own  raising 
for  the  rest  of  the  year. 

67.  Q.  Are  not  the  people  in  the  more  northern  colonies 
obliged  to  fodder  their  sheep  all  the  winter  ? 

A.  In  some  of  the  most  northern  colonies  they  may  be 
obliged  to  do  it,  some  part  of  the  winter. 

68.  Q.  Considering  the  resolutions  of  Parliament,*  as  to 
the  right,  do  you  think,  if  the  Stamp  Act  is  repealed,  that 
the  North  Americans  will  be  satisfied  ? 

A.  I  believe  they  will. 

69.  Q.  Why  do  you  think  so  ? 

A.  I  think  the  resolutions  of  right  will  give  them  very 
little  concern,  if  they  are  never  attempted  to  be  carried  into 


*  Afterwards  expressed  in  the  Declaratory  Act. — B.  V. 
43* 


484  EXAMINA  TION  B  Y  THE    COMMONS.     [Mr.  to 

practice.  The  colonies  will  probably  consider  themselves 
in  the  same  situation,  in  that  respect,  with  Ireland ;  they 
know  you  claim  the  same  right  with  regard  to  Ireland,  but 
you  never  exercise  it,  and  they  may  believe  you  never  will 
exercise  it  in  the  colonies,  any  more  than  in  Ireland,  unless 
on  some  very  extraordinary  occasion. 

70.  Q.  But  who  are  to  be  the  judges  of  that  extraordi- 
nary occasion  ?     Is  not  the  Parliament  ? 

A.  Though  the  Parliament  may  judge  of  the  occasion, 
the  people  will  think  it  can  never  exercise  such  right,  till 
representatives  from  the  colonies  are  admitted  into  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  that,  whenever  the  occasion  arises,  representa- 
tives will  be  ordered. 

71.  Q.  Did  you  never  hear  that  Maryland,  during  the 
last  war,  had  refused  to  furnish  a  quota  towards  the  common 
defence  ? 

A.  Maryland  has  been  much  misrepresented  in  that 
matter.  Maryland,  to  my  knowledge,  never  refused  to  con- 
tribute or  grant  aids  to  the  crown.  The  assemblies,  every 
year  during  the  war,  voted  considerable  sums,  and  formed 
bills  to  raise  them.  The  bills  were,  according  to  the  con- 
stitution of  that  province,  sent  up  to  the  Council,  or  Upper 
House,  for  concurrence,  that  they  might  be  presented  to 
the  governor,  in  order  to  be  enacted  into  laws.  Unhappy 
disputes  between  the  two  Houses,  arising  from  the  defects 
of  that  constitution  principally,  rendered  all  the  bills  but 
one  or  two,  abortive.  The  proprietary's  council  rejected 
them.  It  is  true,  Maryland  did  not  then  contribute  its  pro- 
portion ;  but  it  was,  in  my  opinion,  the  fault  of  the  govern- 
ment, not  of  the  people. 

72.  Q.  Was  it  not  talked  of  in  the  other  provinces,  as  a 
proper  measure,  to  apply  to  Parliament  to  compel  them  ? 


Mr.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  485 

A.  I  have  heard  such  discourse ;  but,  as  it  was  well  known 
that  the  people  were  not  to  blame,  no  such  application  was 
ever  made,  nor  any  step  taken  towards  it. 

73-     Q-  Was  it  not  proposed  at  a  public  meeting? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

74.  Q.  Do  you  remember  the  abolishing  of  the  paper 
currency  in  New  England,  by  act  of  assembly  ? 

A.  I  do  remember  its  being  abolished  in  the  Massachusetts 
Bay. 

75.  Q.  Was  not  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson  prin- 
cipally concerned  in  that  transaction  ? 

A.  I  have  heard  so. 

76.  Q.  Was  it  not  at  that  time  a  very  unpopular  law? 
A.  I  believe  it  might,  though  I  can  say  little  about  it,  as 

I  lived  at  a  distance  from  that  province. 

77.  Q.  Was  not  the  scarcity  of  gold  and  silver  an  argu- 
ment used  against  abolishing  the  paper? 

A.  I  suppose  it  was.* 

78.  Q.  What  is  the  present  opinion  there  of  that  law? 
Is  it  as  unpopular  as  it  was  at  first  ? 

A.  I  think  it  is  not. 

79.  Q.  Have  not  instructions  from  hence  been  some- 
times sent  over  to  governors,  highly  oppressive  and  unpo- 
litical ? 

A.  Yes. 

80.  Q.  Have  not  some  governors  dispensed  with  them 
for  that  reason  ? 

A.  Yes,  I  have  heard  so. 

81.  Q.  Did  the  Americans  ever  dispute  the  controlling 
power  of  Parliament  to  regulate  the  commerce  ? 


*  See  Remarks  and    Facts  relative  to  the  American  Paper  Money,  io 
Sparks's  Works  of  Franklin,  vol.  ii.,  p.  340. 


436  EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.     [Mt.  60. 

A.  No. 

82.  Q.  Can  any  thing  less  than  a  military  force  carry  the 
Stamp  Act  into  execution  ? 

A.  I  do  not  see  how  a  military  force  can  be  applied  to 
that  purpose. 

83.  (?•  Why  may  it  not? 

A.  Suppose  a  military  force  sent  into  America,  they  will 
find  nobody  in  arms  \  what  are  they  then  to  do  ?  They 
cannot  force  a  man  to  take  stamps  who  chooses  to  do  with- 
out them.  They  will  not  find  a  rebellion  ;  they  may  indeed 
make  one. 

84.  Q.  If  the  act  is  not  repealed,  what  do  you  think  will 
be  the  consequences? 

A.  A  total  loss  of  the  respect  and  affection  the  people 
of  America  bear  to  this  country,  and  of  all  the  commerce 
that  depends  on  that  respect  and  affection. 

85.  Q.  How  can  the  commerce  be  affected  ? 

A.  You  will  find,  that  if  the  act  is  not  repealed,  they  will 
take  a  very  little  of  your  manufactures  in  a  short  time. 

86.  Q.  Is  it  in  their  power  to  do  without  them  ? 
A.  I  think  they  may  very  well  do  without  them. 

87.  Q.  Is  it  their  interest  not  to  take  them? 

A.  The  goods  they  take  from  Britain  are  either  neces- 
saries, mere  conveniences,  or  superfluities.  The  first,  as 
cloth,  &c,  with  a  little  industry  they  can  make  at  home; 
the  second  they  can  do  without,  till  they  are  able  to  provide 
them  among  themselves ;  and  the  last,  which  are  much  the 
greatest  part,  they  will  strike  off  immediately.  They  are 
mere  articles  of  fashion,  purchased  and  consumed  because 
the  fashion  in  a  respected  country  ;  but  will  now  be  de- 
tested and  rejected.  The  people  have  already  struck  off, 
by  general  agreement,  the  use  of  all  goods  fashionable  in 


.4£t.  60.]     EXAMINA  TION  B  Y   THE    COMMONS.  487 

mournings,  and  many  thousand  pounds'  worth  are  sent  back 
as  unsalable. 

88.  Q.  Is  it  their  interest  to  make  cloth  at  home  ? 

A.  I  think  they  may  at  present  get  it  cheaper  from 
Britain ;  I  mean,  of  the  same  fineness  and  workmanship ; 
but,  when  one  considers  other  circumstances,  the  restraints 
on  their  trade,  and  the  difficulty  of  making  remittances,  it 
is  their  interest  to  make  every  thing. 

89.  Q.  Suppose  an  act  of  internal  regulations  connected 
with  a  tax ;  how  would  they  receive  it  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would  be  objected  to. 

90.  Q.  Then  no  regulation  with  a  tax  would  be  sub- 
mitted to? 

A.  Their  opinion  is,  that,  when  aids  to  the  crown  are 
wanted,  they  are  to  be  asked  of  the  several  assemblies,  ac- 
cording to  the  old  established  usage ;  who  will,  as  they 
always  have  done,  grant  them  freely.  And  that  their  money 
ought  not  to  be  given  away,  without  their  consent,  by  persons 
at  a  distance,  unacquainted  with  their  circumstances  and  abili- 
ties. The  granting  aids  to  the  crown  is  the  only  means  they 
have  of  recommending  themselves  to  their  sovereign ;  and 
they  think  it  extremely  hard  and  unjust,  that  a  body  of  men, 
in  which  they  have  no  representatives,  should  make  a  merit 
to  itself  of  giving  and  granting  what  is  not  its  own,  but 
theirs ;  and  deprive  them  of  a  right  they  esteem  of  the  ut- 
most value  and  importance,  as  it  is  the  security  of  all  their 
other  rights. 

91.  Q.  But  is  not  the  post-office,  which  they  have  long 
received,  a  tax  as  well  as  a  regulation  ? 

A.  No  ;  the  money  paid  for  the  postage  of  a  letter  is  not 
of  the  nature  of  a  tax ;  it  is  merely  a  quantum  meruit  for  a 
service  done ;  no  person  is  compellable  to  pay  the  money 

w* 


488  EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.     [Mr.  60 

if  he  does  not  choose  to  receive  the  service.  A  man  may 
still,  as  before  the  act,  send  his  letter  by  a  servant,  a 
special  messenger,  or  a  friend,  if  he  thinks  it  cheaper  and 
safer. 

92.  Q.  But  do  they  not  consider  the  regulations  of  the 
post-office,  by  the  act  of  last  year,  as  a  tax  ? 

A.  By  the  regulations  of  last  year  the  rate  of  postage  was 
generally  abated  near  thirty  per  cent  through  all  America ; 
they  certainly  cannot  consider  such  abatement  as  a  tax. 

93.  Q.  If  an  excise  was  laid  by  Parliament,  which  they 
might  likewise  avoid  paying,  by  not  consuming  the  articles 
excised,  would  they  then  not  object  to  it  ? 

A.  They  would  certainly  object  to  it,  as  an  excise  is  un- 
connected with  any  service  done,  and  is  merely  an  aid, 
which  they  think  ought  to  be  asked  of  them,  and  granted 
by  them,  if  they  are  to  pay  it;  and  can  be  granted  for 
them  by  no  others  whatsoever,  whom  they  have  not  em- 
powered for  that  purpose. 

94.  Q.  You  say  they  do  not  object  to  the  right  of  Par- 
liament, in  laying  duties  on  goods  to  be  paid  on  their  im- 
portation ;  now,  is  there  any  kind  of  difference  between  a 
duty  on  the  importation  of  goods,  and  an  excise  on  their 
consumption  ? 

A.  Yes,  a  very  material  one ;  an  excise,  for  the  reasons 
I  have  just  mentioned,  they  think  you  can  have  no  right  to 
lay  within  their  country.  But  the  sea  is  yours ;  you  main- 
tain, by  your  fleets,  the  safety  of  navigation  in  it,  and  keep 
it  clear  of  pirates  ;  you  may  have,  therefore,  a  natural  and 
equitable  right  to  some  toll  or  duty  on  merchandises  carried 
through  that  part  of  your  dominions,  towards  defraying  the 
expense  you  are  at  in  ships  to  maintain  the  safety  of  that 
carriage. 


iEx.  6o.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  489 

95.  Q.  Does  this  reasoning  hold  in  the  case  of  a  duty 
laid  on  the  produce  of  their  lands  exported  ?  And  would 
they  not  then  object  to  such  a  duty? 

A.  If  it  tended  to  make  the  produce  so  much  dearer 
abroad,  as  to  lessen  the  demand  for  it,  to  be  sure  they 
would  object  to  such  a  duty ;  not  to  your  right  of  laying  it, 
but  they  would  complain  of  it  as  a  burden,  and  petition 
you  to  lighten  it. 

96.  Q.  Is  not  the  duty  paid  on  the  tobacco  exported,  a 
duty  of  that  kind  ? 

A.  That,  I  think,  is  only  on  tobacco  carried  coastwise, 
from  one  colony  to  another,  and  appropriated  as  a  fund 
for  supporting  the  college  at  Williamsburg  in  Virginia. 

97.  Q.  Have  not  the  assemblies  in  the  West  Indies  the 
same  natural  rights  with  those  in  North  America  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

98.  Q.  And  is  there  not  a  tax  laid  there  on  their  sugars 
exported  ? 

A.  1  am  not  much  acquainted  with  the  West  Indies ;  but 
the  duty  of  four  and  a  half  per  cent  on  sugars  exported  was, 
I  believe,  granted  by  their  own  assemblies. 

99.  Q.  How  much  is  the  poll-tax  in  your  province  laid 
on  unmarried  men  ? 

A.  It  is,  I  think,  fifteen  shillings,  to  be  paid  by  every 
single  freeman,  upwards  of  twenty-one  years  old. 

100.  Q.  What  is  the  annual  amount  of  all  the  taxes  in 
Pennsylvania? 

A.  I  suppose  about  twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

101.  Q.  Supposing  the  Stamp  Act  continued  and  en- 
forced, do  you  imagine  that  ill  humor  will  induce  the 
Americans  to  give  as  much  for  worse  manufactures  of  then 
own,  and  use  them,  preferable  to  better  of  ours  ? 


4Q0  EXAMINA  TION  B  Y  THE    COMMONS.     [Mr.  60. 

A.  Yes,  I  think  so.  People  will  pay  as  freely  to  gratify 
one  passion  as  another,  their  resentment  as  their  pride. 

102.  Q.  Would  the  people  at  Boston  discontinue  their 
trade  ? 

A.  The  merchants  are  a  very  small  number  compared 
with  the  body  of  the  people,  and  must  discontinue  their 
trade,  if  nobody  will  buy  their  goods. 

103.  Q.  What  are  the  body  of  the  people  in  the  colonies? 
A.  They  are  farmers,  husbandmen,  or  planters. 

104.  Q.  Would  they  suffer  the  produce  of  their  lands 
to  rot  ? 

A.  No ;  but  they  would  not  raise  so  much.  They  would 
manufacture  more,  and  plough  less. 

105.  Q.  Would  they  live  without  the  administration  of 
justice  in  civil  matters,  and  suffer  all  the  inconveniences 
of  such  a  situation  for  any  considerable  time,  rather  than 
take  the  stamps,  supposing  the  stamps  were  protected  by  a 
sufficient  force,  where  every  one  might  have  them  ? 

A.  I  think  the  supposition  impracticable,  that  the  stamps 
should  be  so  protected  as  that  every  one  might  have  them. 
The  act  requires  sub-distributors  to  be  appointed  in  every 
county  town,  district,  and  village,  and  they  would  be  neces- 
sary. But  the  principal  distributors,  who  were  to  have  had 
a  considerable  profit  on  the  whole,  have  not  thought  it  worth 
while  to  continue  in  the  office ;  and  I  think  it  impossible 
to  find  sub-distributors  fit  to  be  trusted,  who,  for  the  trifling 
profit  that  must  come  to  their  share,  would  incur  the  odium, 
and  run  the  hazard,  that  would  attend  it ;  and,  if  they  could 
be  found,  I  think  it  impracticable  to  protect  the  stamps  in 
so  many  distant  and  remote  places. 

106.  Q.  But  in  places  where  they  could  be  protected, 
would  not  the  people  use  them,  rather  than  remain  in  such 


Mt.  6o.J     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  ^gi 

a  situation,  unable  to  obtain  any  right,  or  recover  by  law 
any  debt? 

A.  It  is  hard  to  say  what  they  would  do.  I  can  only 
judge  what  other  people  will  think,  and  how  they  will  act, 
by  what  I  feel  within  myself.  I  have  a  great  many  debts 
due  to  me  in  America,  and  I  had  rather  they  should  remain 
unrecoverable  by  any  law,  than  submit  to  the  Stamp  Act. 
They  will  be  debts  of  honor.  It  is  my  opinion  the  people 
will  either  continue  in  that  situation,  or  find  some  way  to 
extricate  themselves ;  perhaps  by  generally  agreeing  to  pro- 
ceed in  the  courts  without  stamps. 

107.  Q.  What  do  you  think  a  sufficient  military  force  to 
protect  the  distribution  of  the  stamps  in  every  part  of 
America? 

A.  A  very  great  force,  I  can't  say  what,  if  the  disposition 
of  America,  is  for  a  general  resistance. 

108.  Q.  What  is  the  number  of  men  in  America  able 
to  bear  arms,  or  of  disciplined  militia  ? 

A.  There  are,  I  suppose,  at  least 

[Question  objected  to.     He  withdrew.      Called  in  again. ~\ 

109.  Q.  Is  the  American  Stamp  Act  an  equal  tax  on  the 
country  ? 

A.  I  think  not. 

no.     Q.  Why  so? 

A.  The  greatest  part  of  the  money  must  arise  from  law- 
suits for  the  recovery  of  debts,  and  be  paid  by  the  lower 
sort  of  people,  who  were  too  poor  easily  to  pay  their  debts. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  heavy  tax  on  the  poor,  and  a  tax  upon 
them  for  being  poor. 

lit,  Q.  But  will  not  this  increase  of  expense  be  a  means 
of  lessening  the  number  of  lawsuits? 

A.  I  think  not ;  for  as  the  costs  all  fall  upon  the  debtor, 
44 


492  EXAMINATION  BY  THE   COMMONS.     [Mt.  60 

and  are  to  be  paid  by  him,  they  would  be  no  discourage- 
ment to  the  creditor  to  bring  his  action. 

112.  Q.  Would  it  not  have  the  effect  of  excessive 
usury? 

A.  Yes ;  as  an  oppression  of  the  debtor. 

113.  Q.  How  many  ships  are  there  laden  annually  in. 
North  America  with  flax-seed  for  Ireland  ? 

A.  I  cannot  speak  to  the  number  of  ships ;  but  I  know, 
that,  in  1752,  ten  thousand  hogsheads  of  flax-seed,  each 
containing  seven  bushels,  were  exported  from  Philadelphia 
to  Ireland.  I  suppose  the  quality  is  greatly  increased  since 
that  time,  and  it  is  understood,  that  the  exportation  from 
New  York  is  equal  to  that  from  Philadelphia. 

114.  Q.  What  becomes  of  the  flax  that  grows  with  that 
flax-seed  ? 

A.  They  manufacture  some  into  coarse,  and  some  into  a 
middling  kind  of  linen. 

115.  Q.  Are  there  any  slitting-mills  in  America? 

A.  I  think  there  are  three,  but  I  believe  only  one  at 
present  employed.  I  suppose  they  will  all  be  set  to  work, 
if  the  interruption  of  the  trade  continues. 

116.  Q.  Are  there  any  fulling-mills  there  ? 
A.  A  great  many. 

117.  Q.  Did  you  never  hear,  that  a  great  quantity  of 
stockings  were  contracted  for,  for  the  army,  during  the  war, 
and  manufactured  in  Philadelphia? 

A.  I  have  heard  so. 

118.  Q.  If  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed,  would  not 
the  Americans  think  they  could  oblige  the  Parliament  to 
repeal  every  external  tax  law  now  in  force  ? 

A.  It  is  hard  to  answer  questions  of  what  people  at  such 
a  distance  will  think. 


&r.  60. J     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  493 

119.  Q.  But  what  do  you  imagine  they  will  think  were 
the  motives  of  repealing  the  act? 

A.  I  suppose  they  will  think,  that  it  was  repealed  from  a 
conviction  of  its  inexpediency ;  and  they  will  rely  upon  it, 
that,  while  the  same  inexpediency  subsists,  you  will  never 
attempt  to  make  such  another. 

120.  Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  its  inexpediency? 

A.  I  mean  its  inexpediency  on  several  accounts;  the 
poverty  and  inability  of  those  who  were  to  pay  the  tax,  the 
general  discontent  it  has  occasioned,  and  the  impractica- 
bility of  enforcing  it. 

121.  Q.  If  the  act  should  be  repealed,  and  the  legisla- 
ture should  show  its  resentment  to  the  opposers  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  would  the  colonies  acquiesce  in  the  authority  of  the 
legislature  ?     What  is  your  opinion  they  would  do  ? 

A.  I  don't  doubt  at  all,  that  if  the  legislature  repeal  the 
Stamp  Act,  the  colonies  will  acquiesce  in  the  authority. 

122.  Q.  But  if  the  legislature  should  think  fit  to  ascer- 
tain its  right  to  lay  taxes,  by  any  act  laying  a  small  tax, 
contrary  to  their  opinion,  would  they  submit  to  pay  the  tax? 

A.  The  proceedings  of  the  people  in  America  have  been 
considered  too  much  together.  The  proceedings  of  the 
assemblies  have  been  very  different  from  those  of  the  mobs, 
and  should  be  distinguished,  as  having  no  connexion  with 
each  other.  The  assemblies  have  only  peaceably  resolved 
what  they  take  to  be  their  rights ;  they  have  taken  no  mea- 
sures for  opposition  by  force,  they  have  not  built  a  fort,  raised 
a  man,  or  provided  a  grain  of  ammunition,  in  order  to  such 
opposition.  The  ringleaders  of  riots,  they  think  ought  to 
be  punished  ;  they  would  punish  them  themselves,  if  they 
could.  Every  sober,  sensible  man,  would  wish  to  see  rioters 
punished,  as,  otherwise,  peaceable  people  have  no  security 


494  EXAMJNA  TION  B  Y   THE    COMMONS.     [JEt.  ba 

of  person  or  estate;  but  as  to  an  internal  tax,  how  small 
soever,  laid  by  the  legislature  here  on  the  people  there, 
while  they  have  no  representatives  in  this  legislature,  I  think 
it  will  never  be  submitted  to ;  they  will  oppose  it  to  the 
last ;  they  do  not  consider  it  as  at  all  necessary  for  you  to 
raise  money  on  them  by  your  taxes ;  because  they  are,  °nd 
always  have  been,  ready  to  raise  money  by  taxes  among 
themselves,  and  to  grant  large  sums,  equal  to  their  abilities, 
upon  requisition  from  the  crown. 

They  have  not  only  granted  equal  to  their  abilities,  but, 
during  all  the  last  war,  they  granted  far  beyond  their 
abilities,  and  beyond  their  proportion  with  this  country 
(you  yourselves  being  judges),  to  the  amount  of  many  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds;  and  this  they  did  freely  and  readily, 
only  on  a  sort  of  promise,  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  that 
it  should  be  recommended  to  Parliament  to  make  them 
compensation.  It  was  accordingly  recommended  to  Par- 
liament, in  the  most  honorable  manner  for  them.  America 
has  been  greatly  misrepresented  and  abused  here,  in  papers, 
and  pamphlets,  and  speeches,  as  ungrateful,  and  unreason- 
able, and  unjust ;  in  having  put  this  nation  to  an  immense 
expense  for  their  defence,  and  refusing  to  bear  any  part  of 
that  expense.  The  colonies  raised,  paid,  and  clothed  near 
twenty-five  thousand  men  during  the  last  war ;  a  number 
equal  to  those  sent  from  Britain,  and  far  beyond  their 
proportion ;  they  went  deeply  into  debt  in  doing  this,  and 
all  their  taxes  and  estates  are  mortgaged  for  many  years  to 
come,  for  discharging  that  debt. 

Government  here  was  at  that  time  very  sensible  of  this. 
The  colonies  were  recommended  to  Parliament.  Every 
year  the  King  sent  down  to  the  House  a  written  message  to 
this  purpose;   "  that  his  Majesty,  being  highly  sensible  of 


^Et.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE   COMMONS.  495 

che  zeal  and  vigor  with  which  his  faithful  subjects  in  North 
America  had  exerted  themselves,  in  defence  of  his  Majesty's 
just  rights  and  possessions,  recommended  it  to  the  House 
to  take  the  same  into  consideration,  and  enable  him  to  give 
them  a  proper  compensation."  You  will  find  those  mes- 
sages on  your  own  journals  every  year  of  the  war  to  the 
very  last ;  and  you  did  accordingly  give  two  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  annually  to  the  crown,  to  be  distributed  in 
such  compensation  to  the  colonies. 

This  is  the  strongest  of  all  proofs,  that  the  colonies,  far 
from  being  unwilling  to  bear  a  share  of  the  burden,  did 
exceed  their  proportion  ;  for  if  they  had  done  less,  or  had 
only  equalled  their  proportion,  there  would  have  been  no 
room  or  reason  for  compensation.  Indeed,  the  sums, 
reimbursed  them,  were  by  no  means  adequate  to  the  ex- 
pense they  incurred  beyond  their  proportion ;  but  they 
never  murmured  at  that;  they  esteemed  their  sovereign's 
approbation  of  their  zeal  and  fidelity,  and  the  approbation 
of  this  House,  far  beyond  any  other  kind  of  compensation ; 
therefore  there  was  no  occasion  for  this  act,  to  force  money 
from  a  willing  people.  They  had  not  refused  giving  money 
for  the  purposes  of  the  act ;  no  requisition  had  been  made ; 
they  were  always  willing  and  ready  to  do  what  could  reason- 
ably be  expected  from  them,  and  in  this  light  they  wish  to 
be  considered. 

123.  Q.  But  suppose  Great  Britain  should  be  engaged 
in  a  war  in  Europe,  would  North  America  contribute  to  the 
support  of  it? 

A.  I  do  think  they  would  as  far  as  their  circumstances 

would  permit.     They  consider  themselves  as  a  part  of  the 

British  empire,  and  as  having  one  common  interest  with  it ; 

they  may  be  looked  on  here  as  foreigners,  but  they  do  not 

44* 


496  EXAMINA  TION  B  Y   THE    COMMONS,     [^t.  60. 

consider  themselves  as  such.  They  are  zealous  for  the 
honor  and  prosperity  of  this  nation ;  and,  while  they  are 
well  used,  will  always  be  ready  to  support  it,  as  far  as  their 
little  power  goes.  In  1 739  they  were  called  upon  to  assist 
in  the  expedition  against  Carthagena,  and  they  sent  thrte 
thousand  men  to  join  your  army.  It  is  true,  Carthagena  is 
in  America,  but  as  remote  from  the  northern  colonies,  as 
if  it  had  been  in  Europe.  They  make  no  distinction  of 
wars,  as  to  their  duty  of  assisting  in  them. 

I  know  the  last  war  is  commonly  spoken  of  here,  as 
entered  into  for  the  defence,  or  for  the  sake,  of  the  people 
in  America.  I  think  it  is  quite  misunderstood.  It  began 
about  the  limits  between  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia;  about 
territories  to  which  the  crown  indeed  laid  claim,  but  which 
were  not  claimed  by  any  British  colony ;  none  of  the  lands 
had  been  granted  to  any  colonist ;  we  had  therefore  no 
particular  concern  or  interest  in  that  dispute.  As  to  the 
Ohio,  the  contest  there  began  about  your  right  of  trading 
in  the  Indian  country,  a  right  you  had  by  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht,  which  the  French  infringed;  they  seized  the 
traders  and  their  goods,  which  were  your  manufactures ; 
they  took  a  fort  which  a  company  of  your  merchants,  and 
their  factors,  and  correspondents,  had  erected  there  to 
secure  that  trade.  Braddock  was  sent  with  an  army  to 
retake  that  fort,  (which  was  looked  on  here  as  another  en- 
croachment on  the  King's  territory,)  and  to  protect  your 
trade.  It  was  not  till  after  his  defeat  that  the  colonies  were 
attacked.*     They  were  before  in  perfect  peace  with  both 


•  When  this  army  was  in  the  utmost  distress,  from  the  want  of  wagons, 
&c.,  our  author  and  his  son  voluntarily  traversed  the  country,  in  order  to 
collect  a  sufficient  quantity  ;  and  they  had  zeal  and  address  enough  to  effect 


&t.  6o.J     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  497 

French  and  Indians ;  the  troops  were  not,  therefore,  sent 
for  their  defence. 

The  trade  with  the  Indians,  though  carried  on  in  America, 
is  not  an  American  interest.  The  people  of  America  are 
chiefly  farmers  and  planters;  scarce  any  thing  that  they 
raise  or  produce  is  an  article  of  commerce  with  the  Indians. 
The  Indian  trade  is  a  British  interest ;  it  is  carried  on  with 
British  manufactures,  for  the  profit  of  British  merchants  and 
manufacturers ;  therefore  the  war,  as  it  commenced  for  the 
defence  of  territories  of  the  crown  (the  property  of  no 
American),  and  for  the  defence  of  a  trade  purely  British, 
was  really  a  British  war,  and  yet  the  people  of  America  made 
no  scruple  of  contributing  their  utmost  towards  carrying  it 
on,  and  bringing  it  to  a  happy  conclusion. 

124.  Q.  Do  you  think,  then,  that  the  taking  possession 
of  the  King's  territorial  rights,  and  strengthening  the 
frontiers,  is  not  an  American  interest  ? 

A.  Not  particularly,  but  conjointly  a  British  and  an 
American  interest. 

125.  Q.  You  will  not  deny,  that  the  preceding  war,  the 
war  with  Spain,  was  entered  into  for  the  sake  of  America; 
was  it  not  occasioned  by  captures  made  in  the  American  seas? 

A.  Yes ;  captures  of  ships  carrying  on  the  British  trade 
there  with  British  manufactures. 

126.  Q.  Was  not  the  late  war  with  the  Indians,  since 
the  peace  with  France,  a  war  for  America  only  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  it  was  more  particularly  for  America  than  the 
former;  but  was  rather  a  consequence  or  remains  of  the 


their  purpose,  upon  pledging  themselves,  to  the  amount  of  many  thousand 
pounds,  for  payment.  It  was  just  before  Dr.  Franklin's  last  return  from 
England  to  America,  that  the  accounts  in  this  transaction  were  passed  at  th« 
British  treasury. — B.  V. 


498  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS,     [^t.  60. 

former  war,  the  Indians  not  having  been  thoroughly  paci- 
fied ;  and  the  Americans  bore  by  much  the  greatest  share 
of  the  expense.  It  was  put  an  end  to  by  the  army  under 
General  Bouquet ;  there  were  not  above  three  hundred 
regulars  in  that  army,  and  above  one  thousand  Pennsyl- 
vanians. 

127.  Q.  Is  it  not  necessary  to  send  troops  to  America, 
to  defend  the  Americans  against  the  Indians  ? 

A.  No,  by  no  means;  it  never  was  necessary.  They 
defended  themselves  when  they  were  but  a  handful,  and  the 
Indians  much  more  numerous.  They  continually  gained 
ground,  and  have  driven  the  Indians  over  the  mountains, 
without  any  troops  sent  to  their  assistance  from  this  country. 
And  can  it  be  thought  necessary  now  to  send  troops  for 
their  defence  from  those  diminished  Indian  tribes,  when  the 
colonies  have  become  so  populous  and  so  strong?  There  is 
not  the  least  occasion  for  it  ;  they  are  very  able  to  defend 
themselves. 

128.  Q.  Do  you  say  there  were  not  more  than  three 
hundred  regular  troops  employed  in  the  late  Indian  war? 

A.  Not  on  the  Ohio,  or  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania, 
which  was  the  chief  part  of  the  war  that  affected  the 
colonies.  There  were  garrisons  at  Niagara,  Fort  Detroit, 
and  those  remote  posts  kept  for  the  sake  of  your  trade  ;  I 
did  not  reckon  them ;  but  I  believe,  that  on  the  whole  the 
number  of  Americans  or  provincial  troops,  employed  in  the 
war,  was  greater  than  that  of  the  regulars.  I  am  not  cer- 
tain, but  I  think  so. 

129.  Q.  Do  you  think  the  assemblies  have  a  right  to 
levy  money  on  the  subject  there,  to  grant  to  the  crown  ? 

A.  I  certainly  think  so ;  they  have  always  done  it. 

130.  Q.  Are  they  acquainted  with  the  Declaration  of 


JEt.  60.]     EXAMINA  TIOX  B  Y   THE    COMMONS.  499 

Rights?  And  do  they  know,  that,  by  that  statute,  money 
is  not  to  be  raised  on  the  subject  but  by  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment? 

A.  They  are  very  well  acquainted  with  it. 

131.  Q.  How  then  can  they  think  they  have  a  right  to 
levy  money  for  the  crown,  or  for  any  other  than  local 
purposes  ? 

A.  They  understand  that  clause  to  relate  to  subjects  only 
within  the  realm  ;  that  no  money  can  be  levied  on  them  for 
the  crown,  but  by  consent  of  Parliament.  The  colonies 
are  not  supposed  to  be  within  the  realm ;  they  have  assem- 
blies of  their  own,  which  are  their  parliaments,  and  they 
are,  in  that  respect,  in  the  same  situation  with  Ireland. 
When  money  is  to  be  raised  for  the  crown  upon  the  subject 
in  Ireland,  or  in  the  colonies,  the  consent  is  given  in  the 
Parliament  of  Ireland,  or  in  the  assemblies  of  the  colonies. 
They  think  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  cannot  properly 
give  that  consent,  till  it  has  representatives  from, America  ; 
for  the  Petition  of  Right  expressly  says,  it  is  to  be  by  com- 
mon consent  in  Parliament ;  and  the  people  of  America 
have  no  representatives  in  Parliament,  to  make  a  part  of 
that  common  consent. 

132.  Q.  If  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed,  and  an 
act  should  pass,  ordering  the  assemblies  of  the  colonies  to 
indemnify  the  sufferers  by  the  riots,  would  they  obey  it  ? 

A.  That  is  a  question  I  cannot  answer. 

I33-  Q-  Suppose  the  King  should  require  the  colonies 
to  grant  a  revenue,  and  the  Parliament  should  be  against 
their  doing  it,  do  they  think  they  can  grant,  a  revenue  to 
the  King,  without  the  consent  of  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain  ? 

A.  That  is  a  deep  question.     As  to  my  own  opinion,  I 


jOO  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     [JEt.  60. 

should  think  myself  at  liberty  to  do  it,  and  should  do  it,  if 
I  liked  the  occasion. 

134.  Q.  When  money  has  been  raised  in  the  colonies, 
upon  requisitions,  has  it  not  been  granted  to  the  King? 

A.  Yes,  always ;  but  the  requisitions  have  generally  been 
for  some  service  expressed,  as  to  raise,  clothe,  and  pay 
troops,  and  not  for  money  only. 

T35-  Q-  K  tne  act  should  pass  requiring  the  American 
assemblies  to  make  compensation  to  the  sufferers,  and  they 
should  disobey  it,  and  then  the  Parliament  should,  by 
another  act,  lay  an  internal  tax,  would  they  then  obey  it  ? 

A.  The  people  will  pay  no  internal  tax ;  and,  I  think, 
an  act  to  oblige  the  assemblies  to  make  compensation  is 
unnecessary ;  for  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  as  soon  as  the 
present  heats  are  abated,  they  will  take  the  matter  into  con- 
sideration, and  if  it  is  right  to  be  done,  they  will  do  it  of 
themselves. 

136.  Q.  Do  not  letters  often  come  into  the  post-offices 
in  America,  directed  to  some  inland  town  where  no  post 
goes? 

A.  Yes. 

*37-  Q-  Can  any  private  person  take  up  those  letters 
and  carry  them  as  directed  ? 

A.  Yes ;  any  friend  of  the  person  may  do  it,  paying  the 
postage  that  has  accrued. 

138.  Q.  But  must  not  he  pay  an  additional  postage  foi 
the  distance  to  such  inland  town  ? 

A.  No. 

I39-  Q*  Can  the  postmaster  answer  delivering  the  letter, 
without  being  paid  such  additional  postage? 

A.  Certainly  he  can  demand  nothing,  where  he  does  no 
service. 


JEt.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  50 1 

140.  Q.  Suppose  a  person,  being  far  from  home,  finds  a 
letter  in  a  post-office  directed  to  him,  and  he  lives  in  a  place 
to  which  the  post  generally  goes,  and  the  letter  is  directed 
to  that  place;  will  the  postmaster  deliver  him  the  letter, 
without  his  paying  the  postage  receivable  at  the  place 
to  which  the  letter  is  directed  ? 

A.  Yes ;  the  office  cannot  demand  postage  for  a  letter 
that  it  does  not  carry,  or  farther  than  it  does  carry  it. 

141.  Q.  Are  not  ferry-men  in  America  obliged,  by  act 
of  Parliament,  to  carry  over  the  posts  without  pay? 

A.  Yes. 

142.  Q.  Is  not  this  a  tax  on  the  ferry-men? 

A.  They  do  not  consider  it  as  such,  as  they  have  an  ad- 
vantage from  persons  travelling  with  the  post. 

143.  Q.  If  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed,  and  the 
crown  should  make  a  requisition  to  the  colonies  for  a  sum 
of  money,  would  they  grant  it  ? 

A.  I  believe  they  would. 

144.  Q.  Why  do  you  think  so  ? 

A.  I  can  speak  for  the  colony  I  live  in;  I  had  it  in  in- 
struction from  the  assembly  to  assure  the  ministry,  that,  as 
they  always  had  done,  so  they  should  always  think  it  their 
duty,  to  grant  such  aids  to  the  crown  as  were  suitable  to  their 
circumstances  and  abilities,  whenever  called  upon  for  that 
purpose,  in  the  usual  constitutional  manner ;  and  I  had  the 
honor  of  communicating  this  instruction  to  that  honorable 
gentleman  then  minister.* 


*  I  take  the  following  to  be  the  history  of  this  transaction.  Until  1763, 
and  the  years  following,  whenever  Great  Britain  wanted  supplies  directly 
from  the  colonies,  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  his  Majesty's  name,  sent  them 
a  letter  of  requisition,  in  which  the  occasion  for  supplies  was  expressed; 
and  the  colonies  returned  a.  free  gift,  the  mode  of  levying  which  they  wbollv 


5Q2  EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.     [iET.  60 

!45«  (?•  Would  they  do  this  for  a  British  concern,  as 
suppose  a  war  in  some  part  of  Europe,  that  did  not  affect 
them? 

A.  Yes,  for  any  thing  that  concerned  the  general  interest. 
They  consider  themselves  a  part  of  the  whole. 

146.  Q.  What  is  the  usual  constitutional  manner  of 
calling  on  the  colonies  for  aids  ? 

A.  A  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State. 

147.  Q.  Is  this  all  you  mean;  a  letter  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  ? 

A.  I  mean  the  usual  way  of  requisition,  in  a  circular 
letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  by  his  Majesty's  com- 
mand, reciting  the  occasion,  and  recommending  it  to  the 
colonies  to  grant  such  aids  as  became  their  loyalty,  and  were 
suitable  to  their  abilities. 

148.  Q.  Did  the  Secretary  of  State  ever  write  for  money 
for  the  crown  ? 

A.  The  requisitions  have  been  to  raise,  clothe,  and  pay 
men,  which  cannot  be  done  without  money. 


prescribed.  At  this  period,  a  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  (Mr.  George 
Grenville)  steps  forth,  and  says  to  the  House  of  Commons ;  "  We  must  call 
for  money  from  the  colonies  in  the  way  of  a  tax  ;"  and  to  the  colony  agents, 
"  Write  to  your  several  colonies,  and  tell  them,  if  they  dislike  a  duty  upon 
stamps,  and  prefer  any  other  method  of  raising  the  money  themselves,  I  shall 
be  content, provided  the  amount  be  but  raised."  "That  is,"  observed  the 
colonies,  when  commenting  upon  his  terms,  "if  we  will  not  tax  ourselves,  as 
we  maybe  directed,  the  Parliament  will  tax  us."  Dr.  Franklin's  instructions, 
spoken  of  above,  related  to  this  gracious  option.  As  the  colonies  could  not 
choose  "  another  tax,"  while  they  disclaimed  every  tax,  the  Parliament  passed 
the  Stamp  Act. 

It  seems,  that  the  only  part  of  the  offer,  which  bore  a  show  of  favor,  was 
the  grant  of  the  mode  of  levying ;  and  this  was  the  only  circumstance  which 
was  not  new. 

See  Mr.  Mauduit's  account  of  Mr.  Grenville's  conference  with  the  agents, 
confirmed  by  the  agents  for  Georgia  and  Virginia ;  and  Mr.  Burke's  Speech, 
in  1774,  P-  55-— B.  V. 


<Et.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY   THE    COMMONS.  503 

149.  Q.  Would  they  grant  money  alone,  if  called  on? 
A.  In  my  opinion  they  would,  money  as  well  as  men, 

when  they  have  money,  or  can  make  it. 

150.  Q.  If  the  Parliament  should  repeal  the  Stamp  Act, 
will  the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania  rescind  their  resolu- 
tions? 

A.  I  think  not. 

151.  Q.  Before  there  was  any  thought  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
did  they  wish  for  a  representation  in  Parliament? 

A.  No. 

152.  Q.  Don't  you  know,  that  there  is,  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania charter,  an  express  reservation  of  the  right  of 
Parliament  to  lay  taxes  there  ? 

A.  I  know  there  is  a  clause  in  the  charter,  by  which  the 
King  grants,  that  he  will  levy  no  taxes  on  the  inhabitants, 
unless  it  be  with  the  consent  of  the  assembly,  or  by  act  of 
Parliament. 

153.  Q.  How,  then,  could  the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania 
assert,  that  laying  a  tax  on  them  by  the  Stamp  Act  was  an 
infringement  of  their  rights? 

A.  They  understand  it  thus ;  by  the  same  charter,  and 
otherwise,  they  are  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and  liberties 
of  Englishmen ;  they  find  in  the  Great  Charters,  and  the 
Petition  and  Declaration  of  Rights,  that  one  of  the  privi- 
leges of  English  subjects  is,  that  they  are  not  to  be  taxed 
but  by  their  common  consent;  they  have  therefore  relied 
upon  it,  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  province,  that  the 
Parliament  never  would,  nor  could,  by  color  of  that  clause 
in  the  charter,  assume  a  right  of  taxing  them,  till  it  had 
qualified  itself  to  exercise  such  right,  by  admitting  represen- 
tatives from  the  people  to  be  taxed,  who  ought  to  make  a 
part  of  that  common  consent. 
45  x 


504  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     [Mt.  60. 

154.  Q.  Are  there  any  words  in  the  charter  that  justify 
that  construction  ? 

A.  "The  common  rights  of  Englishmen,"  as  declared 
by  Magna  Charta,  and  the  Petition  of  Right,  all  justify  it. 

*55-  (?•  Does  the  distinction  between  internal  and  ex- 
ternal taxes  exist  in  the  words  of  the  charter  ? 

A.  No,  I  believe  not. 

156.  Q.  Then,  may  they  not,  by  the  same  interpretation, 
object  to  the  Parliament's  right  of  external  taxation? 

A.  They  never  have  hitherto.  Many  arguments  have 
been  lately  used  here  to  show  them,  that  there  is  no  differ- 
ence, and  that,  if  you  have  no  right  to  tax  them  internally, 
you  have  none  to  tax  them  externally,  or  make  any  other 
law  to  bind  them.  At  present  they  do  not  reason  so  ;  but 
in  time  they  may  possibly  be  convinced  by  these  argu- 
ments. 

157.  Q.  Do  not  the  resolutions  of  the  Pennsylvania 
assembly  say,  "all  taxes"  ? 

A.  If  they  do,  they  mean  only  internal  taxes ;  the  same 
words  have  not  always  the  same  meaning  here  and  in  the 
colonies.  By  taxes,  they  mean  internal  taxes;  by  duties, 
they  mean  customs ;  these  are  their  ideas  of  the  language. 

158.  Q.  Have  you  not  seen  the  resolutions  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  assembly? 

A.  I  have. 

159.  Q.  Do  they  not  say,  that  neither  external  nor  in- 
ternal taxes  can  be  laid  on  them  by  Parliament  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  that  they  do;  I  believe  not. 

160.  Q.  If  the  same  colony  should  say,  neither  tax  nor 
imposition  could  be  laid,  does  not  that  province  hold  the 
power  of  Parliament  can  lay  neither? 

A.  I  suppose,  that,  by  the  word  imposition,  they  do  not 


&t.  6o.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  505 

intend  to  express  duties  to  be  laid  on  goods  imported,  as 
regulations  of  commerce. 

161.  Q.  What  can  the  colonies  mean  then  by  imposition, 
as  distinct  from  taxes? 

A.  They  may  mean  many  things,  as  impressing  of  men 
or  of  carriages,  quartering  troops  on  private  houses,  and  the 
like  ;  there  may  be  great  impositions  that  are  not  properly 
taxes. 

162.  Q.  Is  not  the  post-office  rate  an  internal  tax  laid 
by  act  of  Parliament  ? 

A.  I  have  answered  that. 

163.  Q.  Are  all  parts  of  the  colonies  equally  able  to  pay 
taxes  ? 

A.  No,  certainly;  the  frontier  parts,  which  have  been 
ravaged  by  the  enemy,  are  greatly  disabled  by  that  means ; 
and  therefore,  in  such  cases,  are  usually  favored  in  our  tax 
laws. 

164.  Q.  Can  we,  at  this  distance,  be  competent  judges 
of  what  favors  are  necessary? 

A.  The  Parliament  have  supposed  it,  by  claiming  a  right 
to  make  tax  laws  for  America ;  I  think  it  impossible. 

165.  Q.  Would  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  be  any  dis- 
couragement of  your  manufactures?  Will  the  people  that 
have  begun  to  manufacture  decline  it  ? 

A.  Yes,  I  think  they  will ;  especially  if,  at  the  same  time, 
the  trade  is  opened  again,  so  that  remittances  can  be  easily 
made.  I  have  known  several  instances  that  make  it  prob- 
able. In  the  war  before  last,  tobacco  being  low,  and  making 
Httle  remittance,  the  people  of  Virginia  went  generally  into 
family  manufactures.  Afterwards,  when  tobacco  bore  a 
better  price,  they  returned  to  the  use  of  British  manufac- 
tures.    So  fulling-mills  were  very  much  disused  in  the  last 


506  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     [Mt.  60. 

war  in  Pennsylvania,  because  bills  were  then  plenty,  and 
remittances  could  easily  be  made  to  Britain  for  English  cloth 
and  other  goods. 

1 66.  Q.  If  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed,  would  it 
induce  the  assemblies  of  America  to  acknowledge  the  rights 
of  Parliament  to  tax  them,  and  would  they  erase  their  reso- 
lutions? 

A.   No,  never. 

167.  Q.  Are  there  no  means  of  obliging  them  to  erase 
those  resolutions? 

A.  None  that  I  know  of;  they  will  never  do  it,  unless 
compelled  by  force  of  arms. 

168.  Q.  Is  there  a  power  on  earth  that  can  force  them 
to  erase  them  ? 

A.  No  power,  how  great  soever,  can  force  men  to  change 
their  opinions. 

169.  Q.  Do  they  consider  the  post-office  as  a  tax,  or  as 
a  regulation  ? 

A.  Not  as  a  tax,  but  as  a  regulation  and  conveniency , 
every  assembly  encouraged  it,  and  supported  it  in  its  infancy, 
by  grants  of  money,  which  they  would  not  otherwise  have 
done  ;  and  the  people  have  always  paid  the  postage. 

170.  Q.  When  did  you  receive  the  instructions  you 
mentioned  ? 

A.  I  brought  them  with  me,  when  I  came  to  England, 
about  fifteen  months  since. 

Iff.  Q.  When  did  you  communicate  that  instruction  to 
the  minister? 

A.  Soon  after  my  arrival,  while  the  stamping  of  America 
was  under  consideration,  and  before  the  bill  was  brought 
in. 

172.     Q.  Would  it  be  most   for  the   interest  of  Great 


JEt.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE   COMMONS.  507 

Britain,  to  employ  the  hands  of  Virginia  in  tobacco,  or  in 
manufactures  ? 
A.  In  tobacco,  to  be  sure. 

173.  Q.  What  used  to  be  the  pride  of  the  Americans? 
A.  To  indulge  in  the  fashions  and  manufactures  of  Great 

Britain. 

1 74.  Q.  What  is  now  their  pride  ? 

A.  To  wear  their  old  clothes  over  again,  till  they  can 
make  new  ones. 

Withdrew.* 


*  This  Examination  was  published  in  1767,  without  the  name  of  printer 
or  of  publisher,  and  the  following  remarks  upon  it  are  contained  in  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  for  July  of  that  year:  "From  this  examination 
of  Dr.  Franklin,  the  reader  may  form  a  clearer  and  more  comprehensive  idea 
of  the  state  and  disposition  of  America,  of  the  expediency  or  inexpediency 
of  the  measure  in  question,  and  of  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  minister 
who  proposed  it,  than  from  all  that  has  been  written  upon  the  subject  in 
newspapers  and  pamphlets,  under  the  titles  of  essays,  letters,  speeches,  and 
considerations,  from  the  first  moment  of  its  becoming  the  object  of  public 
attention  till  now.  The  questions  in  general  are  put  with  great  subtilty  arM 
judgment,  and  they  are  answered  with  such  deep  and  familiar  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  such  precision  and  perspicuity,  such  temper  and  yet  such 
spirit,  as  do  the  greatest  honor  to  Dr.  Franklin,  and  justify  the  general 
opinion  of  his  character  and  abilities." 

Mr.  Sparks  very  justly  says  that  there  was  no  event  in  Franklin's  life  more 
creditable  to  his  talents  and  character,  or  which  gave  him  so  much  celebrity, 
as  this  examination  before  the  House  of  Commons.  His  further  statement, 
however,  that  Franklin's  answers  were  given  without  premeditation  and 
without  knowing  beforehand  the  nature  or  form  of  the  question  that  was  to 
be  put,  is  a  little  too  sweeping.  In  a  memorandum  which  Franklin  gave 
to  a  friend  who  wished  to  know  by  whom  the  several  questions  were  put, 
he  admitted  that  many  were  put  by  friends  to  draw  out  in  answer  the  sub- 
stance of  what  he  had  before  said  upon  the  subject.  This  statement  of 
Franklin  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  examination.  It  first  appeared  in 
Walsh's  Life  of  Franklin,  published  in  Delaplaine  s  Repository,  and  pur- 
ports to  have  been  written  by  Dr.  Franklin,  in  reply  to  a  friend  who  desired 
to  know  by  whom  the  several  questions  were  put.  His  statement  is  as 
follows : 

45* 


508  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     [JEt.  60. 

"  I  have  numbered  the  questions,"  says  Dr.  Franklin,  "for  the  sake  or 
making  references  to  them. 

"  Qu.  i,  is  a  question  of  form,  asked  of  every  one  that  is  examined. —  Qu. 
2,  3,  4, 5,  6,  7,  were  asked  by  Mr.  Hewitt,  a  member  for  Coventry,  a  friend  of 
ours,  and  were  designed  to  draw  out  the  answers  that  follow ;  being  the  sub- 
stance of  what  I  had  before  said  to  him  on  the  subject,  to  remove  a  common 
prejudice,  that  the  colonies  paid  no  taxes,  and  that  their  governments  were 
supported  by  burdening  the  people  here ;  Qu.  7,  was  particularly  intended  to 
show  by  the  answer,  that  Parliament  could  not  properly  and  equally  lay 
taxes  in  America,  as  they  could  not,  by  reason  of  their  distance,  be  ac- 
quainted with  such  circumstances  as  might  make  it  necessary  to  spare  pai 
ticular  parts. — Qu.  8  to  13,  asked  by  Mr.  Huske,  another  friend,  to  show  the 
impracticability  of  distributing  the  stamps  in  America. — Qu.  14,  15,  16,  by 
one  of  the  late  administration,  an  adversary. —  Qu.  17  to  26,  by  Mr.  Huske 
again.  His  questions  about  the  Germans,  and  about  the  number  of  people, 
were  intended  to  make  the  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act  in  America  appear 
more  formidable.  He  asked  some  others  here  that  the  Clerk  has  omitted, 
particularly  one,  I  remember. 

"  There  had  been  a  considerable  party  in  the  House  for  saving  the  honor 
and  right  of  Parliament,  by  retaining  the  Act,  and  yet  making  it  tolerable 
to  America,  by  reducing  it  to  a  stamp  on  commissions  for  profitable  offices, 
and  on  cards  and  dice.  I  had,  in  conversation  with  many  of  them,  objected 
to  this,  as  it  would  require  an  establishment  for  the  distributors,  which 
would  be  a  great  expense,  as  the  stamps  would  not  be  sufficient  to  pay  them, 
and  so  the  odium  and  contention  would  be  kept  up  for  nothing.  The  notion 
of  amending,  however,  still  continued,  and  one  of  the  most  active  of  the 
members  for  promoting  it  told  me,  he  was  sure  I  could,  if  I  would,  assist 
them  to  amend  the  Act  in  such  a  manner,  that  America  should  have  little  or 
no  objection  to  it.  '  I  must  confess,'  says  I,  *  I  have  thought  of  one  amend- 
ment ;  if  you  will  make  it,  the  Act  may  remain,  and  yet  the  Americans  will 
be  quieted.  It  is  a  very  small  amendment,  too ;  it  is  only  the  change  of  a 
single  word.'  '  Ay,'  says  he,  '  what  is  that  ?'  '  It  is  in  that  clause  where  it  is 
said,  that  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  November  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five,  there  shall  be  paid,  &c.  The  amendment  I  would  pro- 
pose is,  for  one  read  two,  and  then  all  the  rest  of  the  act  may  stand  as  it 
does.  I  believe  it  will  give  nobody  in  America  any  uneasiness.'  Mr.  Huske 
had  heard  of  this,  and,  desiring  to  bring  out  the  same  answer  in  the  House, 
asked  me  whether  I  could  not  propose  a  small  amendment,  that  would  make 
the  act  palatable.  But,  as  I  thought  the  answer  he  wanted  too  light  and 
ludicrous  for  the  House,  I  evaded  the  question. 

"  Qu.  27,  28,  29,  I  think  these  were  by  Mr.  Grenville,  but  I  am  not 
certain. — Qu.  30,  31,  I  know  not  who  asked  them. — Qu.  32  to  35,  asked  by 
Mr.  Nugent,  who  was  against  us.     His  drift  was  to  establish  a  notion  he  had 


Mr.  60.]     EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.  509 

entertained,  that  the  people  in  America  had  a  crafty  mode  of  discouraging 
the  English  trade  by  heavy  taxes  on  merchants. —  Qu.  36  to  42,  most  of  these 
by  Mr.  Cooper  and  other  friends,  with  whom  I  had  discoursed,  and  were 
intended  to  bring  out  such  answers  as  they  desired  and  expected  from  me. — 
Qu.  43,  uncertain  by  whom. —  Qu.  44,  45,  46,  by  Mr.  Nugent  again,  who  I 
suppose  intended  to  infer,  that  the  poor  people  in  America  were  better  able 
to  pay  taxes  than  the  poor  in  England. — Qu.  47,  48,  49,  by  Mr.  Prescott,  an 
adversary. 

"  Qu.  50  to  58,  by  different  members,  I  cannot  recollect  who. —  Qu.  59  to 
78,  chiefly  by  the  former  ministry. — Qu.  79  to  82,  by  friends. —  Qu.  83,  by 
one  of  the  late  ministry. — Qu.  84,  by  Mr.  Cooper. — Qu.  85  to  90,  by  some 
of  the  late  ministry. —  Qu.  91,  92,  by  Mr.  Grenville. —  Qu.  93  to  98,  by  some 
of  the  late  ministry. —  Qu.  99,  100,  by  some  friend,  I  think  Sir  George 
Saville. — Qu.  101  to  106,  by  several  of  the  late  ministry. —  Qu.  107  to  114,  by 
friends. —  Qu.  115  to  117,  by  Mr.  A.  Bacon. —  Qu.  118  to  120,  by  some  of  the  late 
ministry. —  Qu.  121,  by  an  adversary. —  Qu.  122,  by  a  friend. —  Qu.  123, 124,  by 
Mr.  Charles  Townshend. —  Qu.  125,  by  Mr.  Nugent. —  Qu.  126,  by  Mr.  Gren- 
ville.—  Qu.  127,  by  one  of  the  late  ministry. —  Qu.  128,  by  Mr.  G.  Grenville. — 
Qu.  129,  130,  131,  by  Mr.  Wellbore  Ellis,  late  Secretary  of  War. —  Qu.  132 
to  135,  uncertain. —  Qu.  136  to  142,  by  some  of  the  late  ministry,  intending  to 
prove  that  it  operated  where  no  service  was  done,  and  therefore  it  was  a  tax. 
— Qu.  143,  by  a  friend,  I  forget  who. — Qu.  144,  145,  by  C.  Townshend. — 
Qu.  146  to  151,  by  some  of  the  late  ministry. —  Qu.  152  to  157,  by  Mr. 
Prescott,  and  others  of  the  same  side. —  Qu.  158  to  162,  by  Charles  Towns- 
hend.— Qu.  163,  164,  by  a  friend,  I  think  Sir  George  Saville. —  Qu.  165,  by 
some  friend. —  Qu.  166,  167,  by  an  adversary. — Qu.  168  to  174,  by  friends. 

"  Mr.  Nugent  made  a  violent  speech  next  day  upon  this  examination,  in 
which  he  said, '  We  have  often  experienced  Austrian  ingratitude  and  yet  we 
assisted  Portugal,  we  experienced  Portuguese  ingratitude,  and  yet  we  assisted 
America.  But  what  is  Austrian  ingratitude,  what  is  the  ingratitude  of  Portu- 
gal, compared  to  this  of  America?  We  have  fought,  bled,  and  ruined  our- 
selves, to  conquer  for  them  ;  and  now  they  come  and  tell  us  to  our  noses, 
even  at  the  bar  of  this  House,  that  they  were  not  obliged  to  us,'  &c.  But 
his  clamor  was  very  little  minded." 

A  few  years  since,  I  stumbled  upon  an  original  edition,  in  a  pamphlet 
form,  of  this  examination,  bearing  the  following  title : 


510  EXAMINATION  BY  THE    COMMONS.     [JEt.  60. 

THE  EXAMINATION 

OF 

DOCTOR    BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 

RELATIVE  TO  THE   REPEAL 
OF  THE 

AMERICAN  STAMP  ACT 
IN  MDCCLXVI. 

MDCCLXVII. 
Price  One  Shilling 

No  publisher's  imprint  is  given.  In  the  margin,  however,  and  in  a  chirog- 
raphy  which  seems  scarcely  more  recent  than  the  printed  text,  are  written 
what  purport  to  be  the  "  names  of  the  interrogators."  When  or  by  whom,  or 
upon  what  authority,  this  list  was  made,  there  are  no  indications ;  but  the 
fact  that  the  list  differs  so  widely  from  that  given  in  Delaplaine's,  and  the 
further  fact  that  Franklin  so  frequently  confesses  his  inability  to  recall  the 
names  of  some  of  his  interrogators,  seem  to  justify  me  in  giving  this  anony- 
mous list  here  for  what  it  is  worth. 

As  Grenville  is  always  spelt  Greenwille,  and  Burke  Bourke,  the  presump- 
tion is  that  all  the  names  were  written  by  a  foreigner,  who  had  taken  them 
from  the  lips  of  his  informant. 

By  the  Speaker        ....        Nos.  i,  2,  inclusive. 

Mr.  Huske         .        .        .        .  "    3  to  42,  " 

Lord  Clare         .        .        .        .  "    43  to  49,  98  to  103,         " 

Mr.  Townshend         .        .        .  "    50  to  77,  " 

Mr.  Bourke        .        .        .        .  "    78  to  89,  106,  107,  " 

Mr.  Greenwille  .        .        .        .  "    90  to  97,  122  to  148,       '* 

Marquis  of  Granby    ...  "     104,  105,  " 

Lord  North        ....  "    108  to  121, 149  to  156,    " 

Mr.  Thurloe,  King's  counsel-at-law      "     157  to  162,  " 

Mr.  Cooper,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  "     163  to  173,  " 

In  this  list  we  do  not  find  the  names  of  Nugent,  Ellis,  Bacon,  or  Saville 

or  Prescott,  while  in  the  other  list  we  do  not  find  the  names  of  Lord  Clare 

Burke,  Marquis  of  Granby,  Lord  North,  or  Thurlow. — Ed. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Franklin  sends  his  Wife  a  New  Dross  on  the  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act — 
New  Disputes  with  the  Mother  Country — Colonies  required  to  provide 
for  Soldiers — Lord  Chatham — Marriage  of  Sally  Franklin — Experiment 
of  making  Paper  Money  not  a  Legal  Tender — Advances  of  the  French 
Ambassador  to  Franklin — Visits  the  Continent — First  Impressions  of 
France  and  Germany. 

1766-1767. 

To       James         Dear  Sir, — I  have  your  letter  by  Mr.  Sea, 

Phfia'dei  hu  an(*  one  Just  now  ^J  express.  I  am  glad  to 
November  2,  hear  the  arms  are  well  got  up ;  they  are  the 
best  that  we  could  procure.  I  wish  they  were 
better ;  but  they  are  well  fortified,  will  bear  a  good  charge, 
and  I  should  imagine  they  would  do  good  service  with 
swan-  or  buck-shot,  if  not  so  fit  for  single  ball.  I  have 
been  ill  these  eight  days,  confined  to  my  room  and  bed 
most  of  the  time,  but  am  now  getting  better.  I  have, 
however,  done  what  I  could  in  sending  about  to  purchase 
arms,  &c,  for  the  supply  of  the  frontiers,  and  can  now 
spare  you  fifty  more,  which  I  shall  send  up  to-morrow  with 
some  flints,  lead,  swan-shot,  and  a  barrel  of  gunpowder. 
The  arms  will  be  under  your  care  and  Mr.  Weiser's,  you 
being  gentlemen  in  commission  from  the  governor.     Keep 

x*  511 


$11  a  ASPERSION  OF   THE  AGENTS.  [jet.  60. 

an  account  of  whose  hands  you  put  them  into.  Let  them 
be  prudent,  sober,  careful  men,  such  as  will  not  rashly  hurt 
our  friends  with  them,  and  such  as  will  honestly  return 
them  when  peace  shall  be  happily  restored. 

I  sincerely  commiserate  the  distress  of  your  out-settlers. 
The  Assembly  sit  to  morrow,  and  there  is  no  room  to  doubt 
of  their  hearty  endeavours  to  do  everything  necessary  for 
the  country's  safety.  I  wish  the  same  disposition  may  be 
found  in  the  governor,  and  I  hope  it.  I  have  put  off  my 
journey  to  Virginia,  and  you  may  depend  on  my  best  ser- 
vices for  the  common  welfare,  so  far  as  my  little  influence 
extends.  I  am  your  affectionate  kinsman  and  humble 
servant, 

B.  Franklin. 

P.  S. — My  best  respects  to  Mr.  Weiser.  Nine  hundred 
arms  with  ammunition  have  been  sent  up  by  the  Committee 
of  Assembly  to  different  parts  of  ihe  frontier. 

From      wn  ^  1S  now  genera%  sa^   to  De  Debert,  and 

Ham  Frank-  not  Ray,  who  wrote  that  scandalous  aspersion 
of  the  agents,  presented  in  the  New  York  and 
other  papers.  I  really  think  it  not  at  all  unlikely  that  Mr. 
Allen  is  in  some  degree  out  of  his  senses.  Upon  finding 
that  Williamson's  "  Essay,"  published  in  Bradford's  "  Sup- 
plement," did  not  take  with  the  people,  he  cried  out  against 
it  in  the  House  as  much  as  anybody.  And  yet,  at  the  last 
session,  when  the  Assembly  were  about  appointing  their 
agents,  he  made  that  piece  the  foundation  of  a  great  deal 
of  abuse  he  threw  out  against  you,  and  spoke  from  it  as  if 
it  had  been  his  brief.  I  have  heard  nothing  further  about 
Mr.  Skinner,  but  perhaps  I  may,  now  the  Duke  of  Grafton 
is  again  in  the  ministry.     I  long  to  have  your  copy  of  the 


Mv.  60.]  TREACHER Y  OF  HALL.  $n  fi 

examination.  Our  friends  have  been  a  considerable  time 
greatly  distressed  with  Mr.  Hall,*  but  his  late  conduct  to 
Mr.  Galloway  has  determined  them  to  throw  him  off  en- 
tirely. I  have  been  above  a  year  fully  convinced  that  he 
had  a  greater  attachment  to  Mr.  Allen  than  to  you;  and 
he  treated  me  very  insolently  in  a  letter  he  wrote  to  me 
on  the  supposition  that  I  was  the  author  of  "  Jack  Retor." 
I  have  ever  since  dropped  all  kind  of  intercourse  with  him. 
I  wrote  you  a  letter  at  the  time  with  a  full  account  of  the 
whole  affair,  but,  as  I  thought  it  would  not  be  long  before 
you  return'd,  I  did  not  send  it,  thinking  it  best  not  to 
trouble  you  till  your  return,  when  you  would  have  an 
opportunity  of  hearing  both  sides  and  inquiring  into  the 
truth  of  the  accusations  against  him. 

I  really  had  a  friendship  for  Mr.  Hall,  and  have  fre- 
quently endeavored  to  remove  the  prejudices  our  friends 
had  conceived  against  him,  but  I  am  now  quite  satisfied 
that  he  has  no  friendship  for  you,  and  is  as  great  an  enemy 
to  your  side  of  the  question  as  ever  Smith  was.  All  the 
difference  is  that  Smith  is  so  openly,  and  the  other  co- 
vertly,— a  mere  snake  in  the  grass.  The  consequence  is 
that  your  friends  (who  would  have  set  up  a  press  about  a 
year  ago,  but  that  they  did  not  know  but  you  might  choose 
to  be  concerned  in  the  printing  business  on  your  return) 
have  at  length  engaged  Goddard,  who  served  his  appren- 
ticeship with  Mr.  Parker,  to  get  up  a  printing  office  in 
Philadelphia  and  publish  a  newspaper. 

Mr.  Galloway  and  Mr.  Thomas  Wharton,  for  his  en- 
couragement, have  entered  into  partnership  with  him  and 
have  agreed  to  advance  what  money  may  be  necessary. 


*  Franklin's  old  partner  in  the  printing  business. 


5U  C  A   NEWSPAPER   PROJECT.  IJEt.  60. 

But,  as  their  motive  for  doing  this  is  not  merely  for  the 
sake  of  profit,  but  principally  to  have  a  press  henceforth 
as  open  and  safe  to  them  as  Hall's  and  Bradford's  are  to 
the  other  party,  they  have  put  it  into  their  agreement,  as  I 
understand,  that  when  you  return  you  shall  have  it  in  your 
power  to  be  concerned,  if  you  chuse  it,  in  the  place  of 
one  of  them.     The  young  man  has  brought  several  good 
founts  of  letters  with  him,  but  his  press  he  was  obliged  to 
leave  with  his  mother,  who  carries  on  the  business  at  Provi- 
dence.    They  therefore  desired  me  to  ask  my  mother  to 
lend  them  the  old  press  which  Parker  used  here,  and  they 
would  either  buy  it  of  you  or  pay  you  what  you  thought 
reasonable  for  the  hire.     My  mother  told  me  she  had  no 
objection  to   my  letting  them  have  it,  but  she  did  not 
chuse   to  do  it  of  herself,  lest  Mr.   Hall  might  be  dis- 
pleased with  her  for  it.     At  the  same  time  she  said  she 
should  be  glad  that  the  printer  would  take  the  old  house 
in  which  it  was,  as  it  stood  empty  and  had  not  brought  in 
any  rent  for  a  great  while.     I  accordingly  let  them  have 
the  press,  and  they  have  agreed  with  my  mother  to  take 
your  old  house  in  Market  Street.     There  is  a  new  mahog- 
any press  there  which  they  seem  desirous  to  purchase  if 
you  incline  to  part  with  it,  but  I  suppose  they  will  write  to 
you  on  the  subject.     What  I  have  done  is  for  the  best,  and 
I  hope  it  will  prove  agreeable  to  you.     There  is,  indeed, 
really  a  necessity  for  their  having  a  press  of  their  own 
while  our  public  affairs  continue  in  their  present  critical 
situation,  for  it  is  with  great  difficulty  they  can  get  Hall 
or  Bradford   to  consent  to  print  anything  for  them,  and 
when  they  do,  some  of  the  Prop  party  are  sure  to  have  it 
communicated   to   them   before   it    is   published.      Hugh 
Roberts  and  many  more  of  your  old  friends  have  deter- 


;Et.  60.]  presents  to  his  wife.  twd 

mined  to  encourage  the  new  printer  all  in  their  power,  and 
to  go  about  the  several  wards  to  get  subscriptions  to  the 
newspaper.  The  members  of  Assembly  will  do  the  same  in 
their  respective  counties,  and  let  him  have  all  the  public 
work.  So  that  I  am  in  hopes  that  by  the  time  you  return 
they  will  lay  the  foundation  of  a  very  valuable  business, 
worth  your  while  to  be  concerned  in  if  you  should  think 
it  proper  or  convenient.  But  I  am  likewise  in  hopes  that 
when  you  do  return  you  will  have  something  far  better 
worth  your  acceptance  than  that  can  possibly  be  made. 
However,  as  all  things  in  this  life  are  uncertain,  it  may 
not  perhaps  be  amiss  for  you  to  have  it  in  your  power  to 
engage  in  this  affair. 

I  am,  honored  sir, 

Wm.  Franklin. 

to  his  wife,  As  the  Stamp  Act  is  at  length  repealed,*  I 
don]  6  April"  am  "willing  you  should  have  a  new  gown,  which 
x766.  vou  may  suppose  I  did  not  send  sooner,  as  I 

knew  you  would  not  like  to  be  finer  than  your  neighbours, 
unless  in  a  gown  of  your  own  spinning.  Had  the  trade 
between  the  two  countries  totally  ceased,  it  was  a  comfort 
to  me  to  recollect,  that  I  had  once  been  clothed  from  head 
to  foot  in  woollen  and  linen  of  my  wife's  manufacture,  that 
I  never  was  prouder  of  any  dress  in  my  life,  and  that  she 


*  Dr.  Franklin's  examination  closed  the  13th  February.  The  bill  for  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  received  the  royal  assent  the  18th  of  the  following 
month.  Though  this  repeal  was  followed  by  a  Declaratory  Act  no  less 
offensive  in  principle  tha  1  the  one  it  succeeded,  affirming  "  the  right  of 
Parliament  to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever,"  rue  colonies  were 
frantic  with  joy,  and  the  enthusiasm  for  Franklin,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
was  unbounded. — Ed. 
46 


512  PRESENTS   TO   HIS  WIFE.  \Mt.  60. 

and  her  daughter  might  do  it  again  if  it  was  necessary.  I 
told  the  Parliament,  that  it  was  my  opinion,  before  the  old 
clothes  of  the  Americans  were  worn  out,  they  might  have 
new  ones  of  their  own  making.  I  have  sent  you  a  fine  piece 
of  Pompadour  satin,  fourteen  yards,  cost  eleven  shillings  a 
yard ;  a  silk  negligee  and  petticoat  of  brocaded  lutestring 
for  my  dear  Sally,  with  two  dozen  gloves,  four  bottles  of 
lavender  water,  and  two  little  reels.  The  reels  are  to  screw 
on  the  edge  of  the  table,  when  she  would  wind  silk  or  thread. 
The  skein  is  to  be  put  over  them,  and  winds  better  than  if 
held  in  two  hands.  There  is  also  a  gimcrack  corkscrew, 
which  you  must  get  some  brother  gimcrack  to  show  you  the 
use  of.  In  the  chest  is  a  parcel  of  books  for  my  friend  Mr. 
Coleman,  and  another  for  cousin  Colbert.  Pray  did  he 
receive  those  I  sent  him  before  ?  I  send  you  also  a  box 
with  three  fine  cheeses.  Perhaps  a  bit  of  them  may  be  left 
when  I  come  home.  Mrs.  Stevenson  has  been  very  dili- 
gent and  serviceable  in  getting  these  things  together  for 
you,  and  presents  her  best  respects,  as  does  her  daughter,  to 
both  you  and  Sally.  There  are  two  boxes  included  in  your 
bill  of  lading  for  Billy. 

I  received  your  kind  letter  of  February  20th.  It  gives 
me  great  pleasure  to  hear,  that  our  good  old  friend  Mrs. 
Smith  is  on  the  recovery.  I  hope  she  has  yet  many  happy 
years  to  live.  My  love  to  her.  I  fear,  from  the  account 
you  give  of  brother  Peter,*  that  he  cannot  hold  out  long. 
If  it  should  please  God,  that  he  leaves  us  before  my  return, 
I  would   have  the    postoffice  remain   under  the    manage- 


*  Peter  Franklin,  the  last  surviving  brother  of  Dr.  Franklin,  died  July  ist, 
1766,  in  the  seventy- fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  had  formerly  resided  at 
Newport,  Rhode  Island ;  but,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was  deputy  post- 
master in  Philadelphia. — S. 


JEt.  60.]  PRESENTS    TO  HIS  WIFE  5 1 3 

ment  of  their  son,  till  Mr.  Foxcroft  and  I  agree  how  to 
settle  it. 

There  are  some  droll  prints  in  the  box,  which  were  given 
me  by  the  painter,  and,  being  sent  when  I  was  not  at  home, 
were  packed  up  without  my  knowledge.  I  think  he  was 
wrong  to  put  in  Lord  Bute,  who  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Stamp  Act.  But  it  is  the  fashion  to  abuse  that  noble- 
man, as  the  author  of  all  mischief. 

To  his  wife,  Mrs.  Stevenson  has  made  up  a  parcel  of 
don  13  Tune"  haberdashery  for  you,  which  will  go  by  Cap- 
1766.  tain  Robinson.     She  will  also  send  you  an- 

other cloak,  in  the  room  of  that  we  suppose  is  lost.  I 
wrote  to  you,  that  I  had  been  very  ill  lately.  I  am  now 
nearly  well  again,  but  feeble.  To-morrow  I  set  out  with 
my  friend  Dr.  Pringle  (now  Sir  John),  on  a  journey  to 
Pyrmont,  where  he  goes  to  drink  the  waters ;  but  I  hope 
more  from  the  air  and  exercise,  having  been  used,  as  you 
know,  to  have  a  journey  once  a  year,  the  want  of  which  last 
year  has,  I  believe,  hurt  me,  so  that,  though  I  was  not  quite 
to  say  sick,  I  was  often  ailing  last  winter,  and  through  the 
spring.  We  must  be  back  at  farthest  in  eight  weeks,  as  my 
fellow  traveller  is  the  Queen's  physician,  and  has  leave  for 
no  longer,  as  her  Majesty  will  then  be  near  her  time.  I 
purpose  to  leave  him  at  Pyrmont,  and  visit  some  of  the 
principal  cities  nearest  to  it,  and  call  for  him  again  when 
the  time  for  our  return  draws  nigh.* 


*  In  the  Journals  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  it  is  mentioned,  that  a 
letter  had  been  received  from  Dr.  Franklin,  dated  June  10th,  1766,  in  which 
he  had  asked  leave  of  the  House  to  return  home  in  the  spring.  No  motion 
on  the  subject  is  recorded  during  the  session ;  and,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
next  session,  his  appointment  as  agent  was  renewed. — S. 


514        CRITICAL   STATE    OF   THE    COLONIES.     [JEt.  6l. 

To   Lord  I  received   your  obliging  favor  of  January 

London  *  \i  ^e  x9tn-  You  have  kindly  relieved  me  from 
April,  1767.  the  pain  I  had  long  been  under.  You  are 
goodness  itself.  I  ought  to  have  answered  yours  of  Decem- 
ber 25th,  1765.  I  never  received  a  letter,  that  contained 
sentiments  more  suitable  to  my  own.  It  found  me  under 
much  agitation  of  mind  on  the  very  important  subject  it 
treated.  It  fortified  me  greatly  in  the  judgment  I  was  in- 
clined to  form,  though  contrary  to  the  general  vogue,  on 
the  then  delicate  and  critical  situation  of  affairs  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  colonies,  and  on  that  weighty  point, 
their  union.  You  guessed  aright  in  supposing  that  I  would 
not  be  a  mute  in  that  play.  I  was  extremely  busy,  attending 
members  of  both  Houses,  informing,  explaining,  consulting, 
disputing,  in  a  continual  hurry  from  morning  till  night,  till 
the  affair  was  happily  ended.  During  the  course  of  its 
being  called  before  the  House  of  Commons,  I  spoke  my 
mind  pretty  freely.  Enclosed  I  send  you  the  imperfect 
account  that  was  taken  of  that  examination.  You  will  there 
see  how  entirely  we  agree,  except  in  a  point  of  fact,  of 
which  you  could  not  but  be  misinformed  ;  the  papers  at  that 
time  being  full  of  mistaken  assertions,  that  the  colonies  had 
been  the  cause  of  the  war,  and  had  ungratefully  refused  to 
bear  any  part  of  the  expense  of  it. 

I  send  it  you  now,  because  I  apprehend  some  late  acci- 
dents are  likely  to  revive  the  contest  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. I  fear  it  will  be  a  mischievous  one.  It  becomes  a 
matter  of  great  importance,  that  clear  ideas  should  be 
formed  on  solid  principles,  both  in  Britain  and  America, 
of  the  true  political  relation  between  them,  and  the  mutual 
duties  belonging  to  that  relation.  Till  this  is  done,  they 
will   be  often  jarring.      I   know  none  whose   knowledge, 


/Et.  6 i.]      TAXATION  AND  REPRESENTATION.  515 

sagacity,  and  impartiality  qualify  him  so  thoroughly  for 
such  a  service  as  yours  do  you.  I  wish,  therefore,  you 
would  consider  it.  You  may  thereby  be  the  happy  instru- 
ment of  great  good  to  the  nation,  and  of  preventing  much 
mischief  and  bloodshed.  I  am  fully  persuaded  with  you, 
that  a  consolidating  union,  by  a  fair  and  equal  representa- 
tion of  all  the  parts  of  this  empire  in  Parliament,  is  the  only 
firm  basis  on  which  its  political  grandeur  and  prosperity 
can  be  founded.  Ireland  once  wished  it,  but  now  rejects 
it.  The  time  has  been,  when  the  colonies  might  have  been 
pleased  with  it ;  they  are  now  indifferent  about  it ;  and,  if 
it  is  much  longer  delayed,  they  too  will  refuse  it.  But  the 
pride  of  this  people  cannot  bear  the  thought  of  it,  and 
therefore  it  will  be  delayed.  Every  man  in  England  seems 
to  consider  himself  as  a  piece  of  a  sovereign  over  America; 
seems  to  jostle  himself  into  the  throne  with  the  King,  and 
talks  of  our  subjects  in  the  colonies.  The  Parliament  cannot 
well  and  wisely  make  laws  suited  to  the  colonies,  without 
being  properly  and  truly  informed  of  their  circumstances, 
abilities,  temper,  &c.  This  it  cannot  be  without  repre- 
sentatives from  thence ;  and  yet  it  is  fond  of  this  power, 
and  averse  to  the  only  means  of  acquiring  the  necessary 
knowledge  for  exercising  it ;  which  is  desiring  to  be  om- 
nipotent, without  being  omniscient. 

I  have  mentioned,  that  the  contest  is  likely  to  be  revived. 
It  is  on  this  occasion.  In  the  same  session  with  the  Stamp 
Act,  an  act  was  passed  to  regulate  the  quartering  of  soldiers 
in  America ;  when  the  bill  was  first  brought  in,  it  contained 
a  clause,  empowering  the  officers  to  quarter  their  soldiers  in 
private  houses  ;  this  we  warmly  opposed,  and  got  it  omitted. 
The  bill  passed,  however,  with  a  clause,  that  empty  houses, 
bams,  &c,  should  be  hired  for  them;  and  that  the  respective 
46* 


£i6         TAXATION  AND   REPRESENTATION.       [/Et.  61. 

provinces,  where  they  were,  should  pay  the  expense  and 
furnish  firing,  bedding,  drink,  and  some  other  articles  to 
the  soldiers,  gratis.  There  is  no  way  for  any  province  to 
do  this  but  by  the  Assembly's  making  a  law  to  raise  the 
money.  The  Pennsylvania  Assembly  has  made  such  a  law; 
the  New  York  Assembly  has  refused  to  do  it ;  and  now  all 
the  talk  here  is,  of  sending  a  force  to  compel  them. 

The  reasons  given  by  the  Assembly  to  the  governor  foi 
the  refusal  are,  that  they  understand  the  act  to  mean  the 
furnishing  such  things  to  soldiers,  only  while  on  their  march 
through  the  country,  and  not  to  great  bodies  of  soldiers,  to 
be  fixed,  as  at  present,  in  the  province,  the  burden  in  the 
latter  case  being  greater  than  the  inhabitants  can  bear ;  that 
it  would  put  it  in  the  power  of  the  captain-general  to 
oppress  the  province  at  pleasure,  &c.  But  there  is  supposed 
to  be  another  reason  at  bottom,  which  they  intimate, 
though  they  do  not  plainly  express  it ;  to  wit,  that  it  is  of 
the  nature  of  an  internal  tax  laid  on  them  by  Parliament, 
which  has  no  right  so  to  do.  Their  refusal  is  here  called 
rebellion,  and  punishment  is  thought  of. 

Now  waving  that  point  of  right,  and  supposing  the  legis- 
latures in  America  subordinate  to  the  legislature  of  Great 
Britain,  one  might  conceive,  I  think,  a  power  in  the  supe- 
rior legislature  to  forbid  the  inferior  legislatures  making 
particular  laws ;  but  to  enjoin  it  to  make  a  particular  law, 
contrary  to  its  own  judgment,  seems  improper ;  an  Assembly 
or  Parliament  not  being  an  executive  officer  of  government, 
whose  duty  it  is,  in  law-making,  to  obey  orders,  but  a 
deliberative  body,  who  are  to  consider  what  comes  before 
them,  its  propriety,  practicability,  or  possibility,  and  to 
determine  accordingly.  The  very  nature  of  a  Parliament 
seems  to  be  destroyed  by  supposing  it  may  be  bound  and 


JEt.  6 i.]     TAXATION  AND   REPRESENTATION.  517 

compelled,  by  a  law  of  a  superior  Parliament,  to  make  a 
law  contrary  to  its  own  judgment. 

Indeed,  the  act  of  Parliament  in  question  has  not,  as  in 
other  acts  when  a  duty  is  enjoined,  directed  a  penalty  on 
neglect  or  refusal,  and  a  mode  of  recovering  that  penalty. 
It  seems,  therefore,  to  the  people  in  America,  as  a  mere 
requisition,  which  they  are  at  liberty  to  comply  with  or  not, 
as  it  may  suit  or  not  suit  the  different  circumstances  of  the 
different  provinces.  Pennsylvania  has  therefore  voluntarily 
complied.  New  York,  as  I  said  before,  has  refused.  The 
ministry  that  made  the  act,  and  all  their  adherents,  call  for 
vengeance.  The  present  ministry  are  perplexed,  and  the 
measures  they  will  finally  take  on  the  occasion  are  yet 
unknown.  But  sure  I  am,  that,  if  force  is  used,  great  mis- 
chief will  ensue  ;  the  affections  of  the  people  of  America  to 
this  country  will  be  alienated ;  your  commerce  will  be 
diminished ;  and  a  total  separation  of  interests  will  be  the 
final  consequence. 

It  is  a  common,  but  mistaken  notion  here,  that  the  colo- 
nies were  planted  at  the  expense  of  Parliament,  and  that 
therefore  the  Parliament  has  a  right  to  tax  them,  &c.  The 
truth  is,  they  were  planted  at  the  expense  of  private  ad- 
venturers, who  went  over  there  to  settle,  with  leave  of  the 
King,  given  by  charter.  On  receiving  this  leave,  and 
those  charters,  the  adventurers  voluntarily  engaged  to  re- 
main the  King's  subjects,  though  in  a  foreign  country;  a 
country  which  had  not  been  conquered  by  either  King  or 
Parliament,  but  was  possessed  by  a  free  people. 

When  our  planters  arrived,  they  purchased  the  lands  of  the 
natives,  without  putting  King  or  Parliament  to  any  expense 
Parliament  had  no  hand  in  their  settlement,  was  never  so 
much  as  consulted  about  their  constitution,  and  took  no 


5  18     KING,  NOT  PARLIAMENT,  SOVEREIGN.     |VEt.  6i. 

kind  of  notice  of  them,  till  many  years  after  they  were 
established.  I  except  only  the  two  modern  colonies,  or 
rather  attempts  to  make  colonies,  (for  they  succeed  but 
poorly,  and  as  yet  hardly  deserve  the  name  of  colonies,") 
I  mean  Georgia  and  Nova  Scotia,  which  have  hitherto  been 
little  better  than  Parliamentary  jobs.  Thus  all  the  colonies 
acknowledge  the  King  as  their  sovereign ;  his  governors 
there  represent  his  person  ;  laws  are  made  by  their  Assem- 
blies or  little  parliaments,  with  the  governor's  assent,  sub- 
ject still  to  the  King's  pleasure  to  affirm  or  annul  them. 
Suits  arising  in  the  colonies,  and  between  colony  and 
colony,  are  determined  by  the  King  in  Council.  In  this  view, 
they  seem  so  many  separate  little  states,  subject  to  the  same 
prince.  The  sovereignty  of  the  King  is  therefore  easily 
understood.  But  nothing  is  more  common  here  than  to 
talk  of  the  sovereignty  of  parliament,  and  the  sovereignty 
of  this  nation  over  the  colonies ;  a  kind  of  sovereignty,  the 
idea  of  which  is  not  so  clear,  nor  does  it  clearly  appear  on 
what  foundation  it  is  established.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
seems  necessary  for  the  common  good  of  the  empire,  that  a 
power  be  lodged  somewhere,  to  regulate  its  general  com- 
merce ;  this  can  be  placed  nowhere  so  properly  as  in  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain;  and  therefore,  though  that 
power  has  in  some  instances  been  executed  with  great  par- 
tiality to  Britain  and  prejudice  to  the  colonies,  they  have 
nevertheless  always  submitted  to  it.  -Custom-houses  are 
established  in  all  of  them,  by  virtue  of  laws  made  here,  and 
the  duties  instantly  paid,  except  by  a  few  smugglers,  such 
as  are  here  and  in  all  countries;  but  internal  taxes  laid  on 
them  by  Parliament  are  still  and  ever  will  be  objected  to, 
for  the  reason  that  you  will  see  in  the  mentioned  examina- 
tion. 


Mt.  6 i.]  UNION  STILL   POSSIBLE.  cj^ 

Upon  the  whole,  I  have  lived  so  great  a  part  of  my  life 
in  Britain,  and  have  formed  so  many  friendships  in  it,  that 
I  love  it,  and  sincerely  wish  it  prosperity ;  and  therefore 
wish  to  see  that  union,  on  which  alone  I  think  it  can  be 
secured  and  established.  As  to  America,  the  advantages  of 
such  a  union  to  her  are  not  so  apparent.  She  may  suffer  at 
present  under  the  arbitrary  power  of  this  country ;  she  may 
suffer  for  a  while  in  a  separation  from  it;  but  these  are 
temporary  evils  which  she  will  outgrow.  Scotland  and 
Ireland  are  differently  circumstanced.  Confined  by  the 
sea,  they  can  scarcely  increase  in  numbers,  wealth,  and 
strength,  so  as  to  overbalance  England.  But  America,  an 
immense  territory,  favored  by  nature  with  all  advantages  of 
climate,  soils,  great  navigable  rivers,  lakes,  &c,  must  be- 
come a  great  country,  populous  and  mighty ;  and  will,  in  a 
less  time  than  is  generally  conceived,  be  able  to  shake  off  any 
shackles  that  may  be  imposed  upon  her,  and  perhaps  place 
them  on  the  imposers.  In  the  mean  time  every  act  of  op- 
pression will  sour  their  tempers,  lessen  greatly,  if  not  anni- 
hilate, the  profits  of  your  commerce  with  them,  and  hasten 
their  final  revolt ;  for  the  seeds  of  liberty  are  universally 
found  there,  and  nothing  can  eradicate  them.  And  yet 
there  remains  among  that  people  so  much  respect,  venera- 
tion, and  affection  for  Britain,  that,  if  cultivated  prudently, 
with  a  kind  usage  and  tenderness  for  their  privileges,  they 
might  be  easily  governed  still  for  ages,  without  force  or  any 
considerable  expense.  But  I  do  not  see  here  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  the  wisdom,  that  is  necessary  to  produce  such  a 
conduct,  and  I  lament  the  want  of  it.* 


*  Mr.  Tytler,  in  a  note  on  this  letter,  after  stating  the  views  of  Lord  Kames 
on  the  controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies,  says  :  "  But,  if 


520  UNION  STILL   POSSIBLE.  [Mr.  6l. 

I  borrowed  at  Millar's  the  new  edition  of  your  "  Prin- 
ciples of  Equity,"  and  have  read  with  great  pleasure  the 
preliminary  discourse  on  the  principles  of  morality.  I  have 
never  before  met  with  any  thing  so  satisfactory  on  the  sub- 
ject. While  reading  it,  I  made  a  few  remarks  as  I  went 
along.  They  are  not  of  much  importance,  but  I  send  you 
the  paper. 

I  know  the  lady  you  mention  (Mrs.  Montague)  ;  having, 
when  in  England  before,  met  her  once  or  twice  at  Lord 
Bath's.  I  remember  I  then  entertained  the  same  opinion 
of  her  that  you  express.  On  the  strength  of  your  recom- 
mendation, I  purpose  soon  to  wait  on  her. 

This  is  unexpectedly  grown  a  long  letter.     The  visit  to 


such  were  the  sentiments  of  Lord  Karnes  on  the  question  of  right  between 
Britain  and  her  colonies,  it  appears,  that,  on  viewing  the  matter  in  the  light 
of  expediency,  he  had  very  early  formed  an  opinion,  that,  in  the  relative 
situation  of  the  two  countries,  and  looking  to  the  probable  chance  of  in- 
creasing animosities,  and  matters  being  driven  to  extremity,  either  by  the 
erring  policy  or  factious  views  of  some  of  the  leaders  in  both,  it  would  be  a 
wise  measure  in  the  British  government  to  waive  the  question  of  strict  right, 
and  to  consent  freely  to  a  consolidating  union  with  America,  by  giving  that 
country  a  full  representation  in  Parliament.  On  this  subject  he  had  written 
to  Dr.  Franklin  as  early  as  the  end  of  the  year  1765,  at  the  time  when  the 
first  intelligence  arrived  in  this  country  of  the  disorders  occasioned  by  the 
attempts  to  carry  the  Stamp  Act  into  execution  ;  and  he  had  written  a 
second  letter  to  him  on  the  same  subject,  in  the  beginning  of  1767.  Dr. 
Franklin's  answer  to  these  letters  is  extremely  interesting,  and  affords  a 
striking  specimen  of  the  profound  sagacity  and  foresight  of  that  extraordi- 
nary man." 

Mr.  Tytler  adds  :  "  This  excellent  letter,  as  appears  by  a  subsequent  one, 
from  the  same  hand,  was  in  all  probability  intercepted,  as  it  was  not  received 
by  Lord  Karnes  in  the  regular  course  of  communication.  Dr.  Franklin, 
however,  having  preserved  a  copy,  transmitted  it  two  years  afterwards  to  his 
correspondent.  The  opinions  it  conveyed  were  thus  probably  well  known 
to  the  persons  at  the  head  of  administration.  It  had  been  happy,  if  they  had 
paid  them  that  attention,  which  the  wisdom  of  the  counsels  they  contained 
deserved." — Tytler's  Life  of  Lord  Karnes,  Vol.  ii.  2d  ed.  pp.  99,  112. — S. 


Mr.  61.]  LORD   CHATHAM'S  HEALTH.  52 1 

Scotland,  and  the  "Art  of  Virtue,"  we  will  talk  of  here- 
after. 

To  Cad waiia-  I  am  always  glad  to  hear  from  you,  when  you 
dated  ^on-  nave  leisure  t0  write,  and  I  expect  no  apologies 
don,  5  May.  for  y0ur  not  writing.  I  wish  all  correspond- 
ence was  on  the  foot  of  writing  and  answering 
when  one  can,  or  when  one  is  disposed  to  it,  without  the 
compulsions  of  ceremony.  I  am  pleased  with  your  scheme 
of  a  Medical  Library  at  the  Hospital ;  and  I  fancy  I  can 
procure  you  some  donations  among  my  medical  friends 
here,  if  you  will  send  me  a  catalogue  of  what  books  you 
already  have.  Enclosed  I  send  you  the  only  book  of  the 
kind  in  my  possession  here,  having  just  received  it  as  a 
present  from  the  author.  It  is  not  yet  published  to  be 
sold,  and  will  not  be  for  some  time,  till  the  second  part 
is  ready  to  accompany  it. 

I  thank  you  for  your  remarks  on  the  gout.  They  may  be 
useful  to  me,  who  have  already  had  some  touches  of  that 
distemper.  As  to  Lord  Chatham,  it  is  said  that  his  consti- 
tution is  totally  destroyed  and  gone,  partly  through  the 
violence  of  the  disease,  and  partly  by  his  own  continual 
quacking  with  it.  There  is  at  present  no  access  to  him. 
He  is  said,  to  be  not  capable  of  receiving,  any  more  than 
of  giving,  advice.  But  still  there  is  such  a  deference  paid 
to  him,  that  much  business  is  delayed  on  his  account,  that 
so  when  entered  on  it  may  have  the  strength  of  his  concur- 
rence, or  not  be  liable  to  his  reprehension,  if  he  should  re- 
cover his  ability  and  activity.  The  ministry,  we  at  present 
have,  has  not  been  looked  upon,  either  by  itself  or  others, 
as  settled,  which  is  another  cause  of  postponing  every  thing 
not  immediately  necessary  to  be  considered.       New  men, 


522         LEGAL    TENDER    OF  PAPER   MONEY.     [Mr.  6l. 

and  perhaps  new  measures,  are  often  expected  and  appre- 
hended, whence  arise  continual  cabals,  factions,  and  in- 
trigues among  the  outs  and  ins,  that  keep  every  thing  in 
confusion.     And  when  affairs  will  mend  is  very  uncertain. 

To  Joseph  In  my  last  of  May  20th,  I  mentioned  my 
ted  °London"  noPes  tnat  we  should  at  length  get  over  all 
13  June,  1767.  obstructions  to  the  repeal  of  the  act  restraining 
the  legal  tender  of  paper  money ;  but  those  hopes  are  now 
greatly  lessened. 

The  ministry  had  agreed  to  the  repeal,  and  the  notion 
that  had  possessed  them,  that  they  might  make  a  revenue 
from  paper  money  in  appropriating  the  interest  by  Parlia- 
ment, was  pretty  well  removed  by  my  assuring  them  that  it 
was  my  opinion  no  colony  could  make  money  on  those 
terms,  and  that  the  benefits  arising  to  the  commerce  of  this 
country  in  America  from  a  plentiful  currency  would  there- 
fore be  lost  and  the  repeal  answer  no  end,  if  the  Assemblies 
were  not  allowed  to  appropriate  the  interest  themselves; 
that  the  crown  might  get  a  great  share  upon  occasional 
requisitions,  I  made  no  doubt,  by  voluntary  appropriations 
of  the  Assemblies;  but  they  would  never  establish  such 
funds  as  to  make  themselves  unnecessary  to  government. 
Those  and  other  reasons,  that  were  urged,  seemed  to  satisfy 
them,  so  that  we  began  to  think  all  would  go  on  smoothly, 
and  the  merchants  prepared  their  petition,  on  which  the 
repeal  was  to  be  founded.  But  in  the  House,  when  the 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer  had  gone  through  his  proposed 
American  revenue,  viz.  by  duties  on  glass,  china  ware, 
paper,  pasteboard,  colors,  tea,  &c,  Grenville  stood  up  and 
undervalued  them  all  as  trifles;  and,  says  he,  "I  will  tell 
the  honorable  gentleman  of  a  revenue,  that  will  produce 


JEt.  6i.]     LEGAL    TENDER   OF  PAPER  MONEY.         523 

something  valuable  in  America ;  make  paper  money  for  the 
colonies,  issue  it  upon  loan  there,  take  the  interest,  and 
apply  it  as  you  think  proper."  Mr.  Townshend,  finding  the 
House  listened  to  this  and  seemed  to  like  it,  stood  up 
again  and  said,  that  was  a  proposition  of  his  own,  which 
he  had  intended  to  make  with  the  rest,  but  it  had  slipped 
his  memory,  and  the  gentleman,  who  must  have  heard  of  it, 
now  unfairly  would  take  advantage  of  that  slip  and  make  a 
merit  to  himself  of  a  proposition  that  was  another's,  and  as 
a  proof  of  it,  assured  the  House  a  bill  was  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  and  would  be  laid  before  them. 

This  startled  all  our  friends ;  and  the  merchants  con- 
cluded to  keep  back  their  petition  for  a  while,  till  things 
appeared  a  little  clearer,  lest  their  friends  in  America  should 
blame  them,  as  having  furnished  foundation  for  an  act, 
that  must  have  been  disagreeable  to  the  colonies.  I  found 
the  rest  of  the  ministry  did  not  like  this  proceeding  of  the 
chancellor's,  but  there  was  no  going  on  with  our  scheme 
against  his  declaration,  and,  as  he  daily  talked  of  resigning, 
there  being  no  good  agreement  between  him  and  the  rest, 
and  as  we  found  the  general  prejudice  against  the  colonies 
so  strong  in  the  House,  that  any  thing  in  the  shape  of  a 
favor  to  them  all  was  like  to  meet  with  opposition,  whether 
he  was  out  or  in,  I  proposed  to  Mr.  Jackson  the  putting  our 
colony  foremost,  as  we  stood  in  a  pretty  good  light,  and 
asking  the  favor  for  us  alone.  This  he  agreed  might  be 
proper  in  case  the  chancellor  should  go  out,  and  undertook 
to  bring  in  a  bill  for  that  purpose,  provided  the  Philadel- 
phia merchants  would  petition  for  it ;  and  he  wished  to 
have  such  a  petition  ready  to  present,  if  an  opening  for  it 
should  offer.  Accordingly  I  applied  to  them,  and  prepared 
a  draft  of  a  petition  for  them  to  sign,  a  copy  of  which  ] 
47  Y 


524        LEGAL    TENDER    OE  PAPER   MONEY.     [Mr.  61. 

send  you  enclosed.  They  seemed  generally  for  the  measure  \ 
but,  apprehending  the  merchants  of  the  other  colonies,  who 
had  hitherto  gone  hand  in  hand  with  us  in  all  American 
affairs,  might  take  umbrage  if  we  now  separated  from  them, 
it  was  thought  right  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  whole  to  con- 
sult upon  this  proposal. 

At  this  meeting  I  represented  to  them,  as  the  ground  of 
this  measure,  that,  the  colonies  being  generally  out  of  favor 
at  present,  any  hard  clause  relating  to  paper  money  in  the 
repealing  bill  will  be  more  easily  received  in  Parliament,  if 
the  bill  related  to  all  the  colonies;  that  Pennsylvania, 
being  in  some  degree  of  favor,  might  possibly  alone  obtain 
a  better  act  than  the  whole  could  do,  as  it  might  by  govern- 
ment be  thought  as  good  policy  to  show  favor  where  there 
had  been  the  reverse ;  that  a  good  act  obtained  by  Penn- 
sylvania might  another  year,  when  the  resentment  against 
the  colonies  should  be  abated,  be  made  use  of  as  a  prece- 
dent, &c.  &c.  But,  after  a  good  deal  of  debate  it  was 
finally  concluded  not  to  precipitate  matters,  it  being  very 
dangerous  by  any  kind  of  petition  to  furnish  the  chancellor 
with  a  horse  on  which  he  could  put  what  saddle  he  thought 
fit.  The  other  merchants  seemed  rather  averse  to  the 
Pennsylvania  merchants  proceeding  alone,  but  said  they 
were  certainly  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  thought  proper.  The 
conclusion  of  the  Pennsylvania  merchants  was  to  wait  awhile, 
holding  the  separate  petition  ready  to  sign  and  present,  if 
a  proper  opening  should  appear  this  session,  but  otherwise 
to  reserve  it  to  the  next,  when  the  complexion  of  ministers 
and  measures  may  probably  be  changed.  And,  as  this 
session  now  draws  to  a  conclusion,  I  begin  to  think  nothing 
vrill  be  farther  done  in  it  this  year. 

Mentioning  the  merchants  puts  me  in  mind  of  some  dis- 


A.t.  61.]  COMPLAINTS   OF  MERCHANTS.  525 

course  I  heard  among  them,  that  was  by  no  means  agree- 
able. It  was  said,  that,  in  the  opposition  they  gave  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  their  endeavours  to  obtain  the  repeal,  they 
had  spent  at  their  meetings,  and  in  expresses  to  all  parts  of 
this  country,  and  for  a  vessel  to  carry  the  joyful  news  to 
North  America,  and  in  the  entertainments  given  our  friends 
of  both  Houses,  &c,  near  fifteen  hundred  pounds;  that  for 
all  this,  except  from  the  little  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  they 
had  not  received  as  much  as  a  thank  ye ;  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  circular  letters  they  had  written  with  the  best  in- 
tentions to  the  merchants  of  the  several  colonies,  containing 
their  best  and  most  friendly  advice,  were  either  answered 
with  unkind  reflections,  or  contemptuously  left  without 
answer ;  and  that  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  whom  they  sent 
express  with  the  news,  having  met  with  misfortunes,  that 
obliged  him  to  travel  by  land  through  all  the  colonies  from 
New  Hampshire  to  Pennsylvania,  was  everywhere  treated 
with  neglect  and  contempt,  instead  of  civility  and  hospi- 
tality; and  nowhere  more  than  at  Philadelphia,  where, 
though  he  delivered  letters  to  the  merchants,  that  must  make 
him  and  his  errand  known  to  them,  no  one  took  the  least 
notice  of  him.  I  own  I  was  ashamed  to  hear  all  this,  but 
hope  there  is  some  mistake  in  it.  I  should  not  have  troubled 
you  with  this  account,  but  that  I  think  we  stand  in  truth 
greatly  obliged  to  the  merchants,  who  are  a  very  respectable 
body,  and  whose  friendship  is  worth  preserving,  as  it  may 
greatly  help  us  on  future  occasions ;  and  therefore  I  wish 
some  decent  acknowledgments  or  thanks  were  sent  from  the 
Assemblies  of  the  colonies,  since  their  correspondents  have 
omitted  it. 

I  have  said  the  less  of  late  in  my  letters  concerning  the 
petitions,  because  I  hoped  this  summer  to  have  an  oppor 


526  MINISTERIAL    THREATS.  [Mr.  61 

tunity  of  communicating  every  thing  viva  voce,  and  there 
are  particulars  that  cannot  safely  be  trusted  to  paper.  Per- 
haps I  may  be  more  determined  as  to  returning  or  staying 
another  winter,  when  I  receive  my  next  letters  from  you 
and  my  other  friends  in  Philadelphia. 

We  got  the  chancellor  to  drop  his  salt  duty.  And  the 
merchants  trading  to  Portugal  and  Spain,  he  says,  have  made 
such  a  clamor  about  the  intention  of  suffering  ships  to  go 
directly  with  wine,  fruit,  and  oil,  from  those  countries  to 
America,  that  he  has  dropped  that  scheme,  and  we  are  it 
seems  to  labor  a  little  longer  under  the  inconveniences  of 
the  restraint. 

It  is  said  the  bill  to  suspend  the  legislatures  of  New  York 
and  Georgia,  till  they  comply  with  the  act  of  Parliament  for 
quartering  soldiers,  will  pass  this  session.  I  fear  that  im- 
prudencies  on  both  sides  may,  step  by  step,  bring  on  the 
most  mischievous  consequences.  It  is  imagined  here,  that 
this  act  will  enforce  immediate  compliance ;  and,  if  the 
people  should  be  quiet,  content  themselves  with  the  laws 
they  have,  and  let  the  matter  rest,  till  in  some  future  war- 
the  King  wanting  aids  from  them,  and  finding  himself 
restrained  in  his  legislation  by  the  act  as  much  as  the 
people,  shall  think  fit  by  his  ministers  to  propose  the  re- 
peal, the  Parliament  will  be  greatly  disappointed ;  and 
perhaps  it  may  take  this  turn.  I  wish  nothing  worse  may 
happen.* 


*  Besides  the  offence  given  to  the  government  by  the  legislature  of  New 
York,  in  refusing  to  provide  for  quartering  soldiers,  the  merchants  of  the  city 
of  New  York  petitioned  for  the  repeal  of  the  acts  of  Parliament  restraining 
the  trade  of  the  colonies.  The  petition  was  presented  to  Parliament  and 
read,  but  was  then  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table,  and  no  further  notice  was 
taken  of  it.      The  conduct  of  the  New  Yorkers,  on  both  these  accounts, 


Mr.  6i.]  VISIT  FROM  A   MUSE.  527 

The  present  ministry  will  probably  continue  through  this 
session.  But  their  disagreement,  with  the  total  inability  of 
Lord  Chatham,  through  sickness,  to  do  any  business,  must 
bring  on  some  change  before  next  winter.  I  wish  it  may 
be  for  the  better,  but  fear  the  contrary. 


To  Miss  Mary  We  were  greatly  disappointed  yesterday, 
dated^craien  tnat  we  na-d  not  tne  pleasure,  promised  us,  of 
St.,  17  June,  our  dear  Polly's  company.  Your  good  mother 
would  have  me  write  a  line  in  answer  to  your 
letter.  A  muse,  you  must  know,  visited  me  this  morning  ! 
I  see  you  are  surprised,  as  I  was.      I  never  saw  one  before, 


raised  against  them  a  great  outcry  in  England ;  and  Franklin,  according  to 
his  custom  in  such  cases,  endeavored  to  quiet  the  clamor  and  vindicate  his 
countrymen,  by  an  accurate  representation  of  the  circumstances  in  the  pub 
lie  papers.  Among  his  manuscripts  I  find  a  fragment  of  an  article,  which 
seems  to  relate  to  this  occasion,  signed  "A  Friend  to  Both  Countries."  The 
closing  part  only  remains,  and  is  as  follows : 

" or  refuses  to  comply  with  an  act  of  Parliament,  is  a  rebel,  I  am 

afraid  we  have  many  more  rebels  among  us  than  we  are  aware  of;  among 
others,  they  that  have  not  registered  the  weights  of  their  plate,  and  paid  the 
duty,  are  all  rebels ;  and  these,  I  think,  are  not  a  few ;  to  whom  may  be 
added  the  acting  rebels  that  wear  French  silks  and  cambrics. 

"  As  to  the  petition  mentioned  above,  I  have  been  informed  it  is  from  a 
number  of  private  persons,  merchants  of  New  York,  stating  their  opinion, 
that  several  restraints  in  the  acts  of  trade,  laid  on  the  commerce  of  the  col- 
onies, are  not  only  prejudicial  to  the  colonies,  but  to  the  mother  country. 
They  give  their  reasons  for  this  opinion.  These  reasons  are  to  be  judged 
of  here.  If  they  are  found  to  be  good,  and  supported  by  facts,  one  would 
think,  that,  instead  of  censure,  those  merchants  might  deserve  thanks.  If 
otherwise,  the  petition  may  be  laid  aside.  Petitioning  is  not  rebellion.  The 
very  nature  of  a  petition  acknowledges  the  power  it  petitions  to,  and  the 
subjection  of  the  petitioner. 

"  But,  in  party  views,  molehills  are  often  magnified  to  mountains  ;  and 
when  the  wolf  is  determined  on  a  quarrel  with  the  lamb,  up  stream  or  down 
stream  is  all   one.      Pretences  are   easily  found  or   made.      Reason  and 
justice  are  out  of  the  question." — S. 
47* 


^ 28  HIS  DAUGHTER'S  ENGAGEMENT.       [Mr.  61. 

and  shall  never  see  another,  so  I  took  the  opportunity  of  her 
help  to  put  the  answer  into  verse,  because  I  was  some  verse 
in  your  debt  ever  since  you  sent  me  the  last  pair  of  garters. 
This  muse  appeared  to  be  no  housewife.  I  suppose  few 
of  them  are.  She  was  dressed  (if  the  expression  is  allowa- 
ble) in  an  undress,  a  kind  of  slatternly  negligie,  neither  neat 
nor  clean,  nor  well  made ;  and  she  has  given  the  same  sort 
of  dress  to  my  piece.  On  reviewing  it,  I  would  have  re- 
formed the  lines,  and  made  them  all  of  a  length,  as  I  am 
told  lines  ought  to  be;  but  I  find  I  cannot  lengthen  the 
short  ones  without  stretching  them  on  the  rack,  and  I  think 
it  would  be  equally  cruel  to  cut  off  any  part  of  the  long 
ones.  Besides  the  superfluity  of  these  makes  up  for  the  de- 
ficiency of  those  ;  and  so,  from  a  principle  of  justice,  I  leave 
them  at  full  length,  that  I  may  give  you,  at  least  in  one 
sense  of  the  word,  good  measure* 

To  his  wife,  It  seems  now  as  if  I  should  stay  here  another 
dated       on-    wjnter   ancj  therefore  I  must  leave  it  to  your 

don,  22  June,  '  * 

1767-  judgment  to  act  in  the  affair  of  our  daughter's 

match,  as  shall  seem  best.*  If  you  think  it  a  suitable  one, 
I  suppose  the  sooner  it  is  completed  the  better.  In  that 
Gase  I  would  advise,  that  you  do  not  make  an  expensive 
feasting  wedding,  but  conduct  every  thing  with  frugality 
and  economy,  which  our  circumstances  now  require  to  be 
observed  in  all  our  expenses.  For,  since  my  partnership 
with  Mr.  Hall  is  expired,  a  great  source  of  our  income  is 
cut  off;  and,  if  I  should  lose  the  postoffice,  which,  among 
the  many  changes  here,  is  far  from  being  unlikely,  we  should 


*  Sally  Franklin,  the  doctor's  only  daughter,  married    Richard  Bache, 
October  29,  1767.     She  was  twenty-three  years  of  age. — Ed. 


/Et.  6i.]       HIS  DAUGHTER'S  ENGAGEMENT.  529 

be  reduced  to  our  rents  and  interest  of  money  for  a  sub- 
sistence, which  will  by  no  means  afford  the  chargeable 
housekeeping  and  entertainments  we  have  been  used  to. 

For  my  own  part,  I  live  here  as  frugally  as  possible  not 
to  be  destitute  of  the  comforts  of  life,  making  no  dinners  for 
anybody  and  contenting  myself  with  a  single  dish  when  I 
dine  at  home ;  and  yet  such  is  the  dearness  of  living  here 
in  every  article,  that  my  expenses  amaze  me.  I  see,  too, 
by  the  sums  you  have  received  in  my  absence,  that  yours 
are  very  great ;  and  I  am  very  sensible  that  your  situation 
naturally  brings  you  a  great  many  visiters,  which  occasions 
an  expense  not  easily  to  be  avoided,  especially  when  one 
has  been  long  in  the  practice  and  habit  of  it.  But,  when 
people's  incomes  are  lessened,  if  they  cannot  proportionably 
lessen  their  outgoings,  they  must  come  to  poverty.  If  we 
were  young  enough  to  begin  business  again,  it  might  be 
another  matter ;  but  I  doubt  we  are  past  it,  and  business 
not  well  managed  ruins  one  faster  than  no  business.  In 
short,  with  frugality  and  prudent  care  we  may  subsist 
decently  on  what  we  have,  and  leave  it  entire  to  our  chil- 
dren ;  but  without  such  care  we  shall  not  be  able  to  keep  it 
together  ;  it  will  melt  away  like  butter  in  the  sunshine,  and 
we  may  live  long  enough  to  feel  the  miserable  consequences 
of  our  indiscretion. 

I  know  very  little  of  the  gentleman  or  his  character,  nor 
can  I  at  this  distance.  I  hope  his  expectations  are  not 
great  of  any  fortune  to  be  had  with  our  daughter  before  our 
death.  I  can  only  say,  that,  if  he  proves  a  good  husband 
to  her  and  a  good  son  to  me,  he  shall  find  me  as  good  a 
father  as  I  can  be;  but  at  present,  I  suppose  you  would 
agree  with  me,  that  we  cannot  do  more  than  fit  her  out 
handsomely  in  clothes  and  furniture,  not  exceeding  in  the 


530  RELATIVES  IN  ENGLAND.  [Ml.  61. 

whole  five  hundred  pounds  of  value.  For  the  rest,  they 
must  depend,  as  you  and  I  did,  on  their  own  industry  and 
care,  as  what  remains  in  our  hands  will  be  barely  sufficient 
for  our  support,  and  not  enough  for  them  when  it  comes  to 
be  divided  at  our  decease. 

Sally  Franklin  is  well.  Her  father,  who  had  not  seen 
her  for  a  twelvemonth,  came  lately  and  took  her  home  with 
him  for  a  few  weeks  to  see  her  friends.  He  is  very  desirous 
I  should  take  her  with  me  to  America. 

I  suppose  the  blue  room  is  too  blue,  the  wood  being  of 
the  same  color  with  the  paper,  and  so  looks  too  dark.  I 
would  have  you  finish  it  as  soon  as  you  can,  thus  ;  paint  the 
wainscoat  a  dead  white ;  paper  the  walls  blue,  and  tack  the 
gilt  border  round  just  above  the  surbase  and  under  the  cor- 
nice. If  the  paper  is  not  equally  colored  when  pasted  on, 
let  it  be  brushed  over  again  with  the  same  color,  and  let  the 
papier  mache  musical  figures  be  tacked  to  the  middle  of  the 
ceiling.     When  this  is  done,  I  think  it  will  look  very  well. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Sally  keeps  up  and  increases  the 
number  of  her  friends.  The  best  wishes  of  a  fond  father 
for  her  happiness  always  attend  her. 

To  Samuel  I  should  sooner  have  answered  your  kind 
ted^ London]  letter  of  last  year>  but  postponed  it  from  time 
17 July,  1767.  to  time,  having  mislaid  the  print  I  intended 
to  send  you,  which  I  have  now  found  and  send  herewith. 
I  am  glad  to  hear  of  the  welfare  of  yourself  and  your  family, 
which  I  hope  will  long  continue.  My  love  to  them  all. 
It  gives  me  pleasure  whenever  I  find  that  my  endeavours 


*  The  grandson  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  Dr.  Franklin's  uncle,  after  whom 
he  was  named. — Ed. 


Mt.  6i.]  FAMILY  AFFAIRS.  53! 

to  serve  America  are  acceptable  to  my  friends  there.  Your 
kind  notices  of  them  are  very  obliging. 

I  find  here  but  two  of  our  relations  remaining,  that  bear 
the  name  of  Franklin,  viz.  Thomas  Franklin  of  Lutterworth 
in  Leicestershire,  a  dyer,  and  his  daughter  Sally  Franklin, 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  has  been  with  me  in  Lon- 
don about  a  year,  and  sends  her  duty  to  you.  Thomas 
Franklin  is  the  grandson  of  John  Franklin,  your  grand- 
father's brother.  There  are  besides  still  living,  Eleanor 
Morris,  an  old  maiden  lady,  daughter  of  your  grandfather's 
sister  Hannah;  and  also  Hannah  Walker,  granddaughter 
of  his  brother  John.  Mrs.  Walker  has  three  sons.  She 
lives  at  Westbury,  in  Buckinghamshire,  and  Mrs.  Morris 
with  her.  And  these  are  the  whole.  It  is  thought  best  by 
my  friends  that  I  should  continue  here  another  winter. 

To  his  wife,  Captain  Ourry  dined  here  a  few  days  since, 
don6  5  Aug "  anc*  thanks  you  for  remembering  him,  desiring 
J767-  his  respects  to  you  and  Sally.     Mr.  Strahan 

and  family,  the  same.  I  received  the  bill  sent  by  Mr.  Potts, 
and  suppose  it  will  be  duly  paid.  You  will  return  him  the 
overplus.  I  wish  I  could  take  my  passage  this  time  with 
Captain  Falconer.  I  was  on  board  the  other  day  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  West,*  Mrs.  Stevenson,  and  Mrs.  Hopkinson,  to 
drink  tea.  It  is  a  fine  ship,  and  I  think  it  not  unlikely 
that  I  may  go  with  him  next  time,  as  he  is  a  very  kind, 
good  friend,  whom  I  much  respect. 

I  am  glad  you  go  sometimes  to  Burlington.  The  harmony 
you  mention  in  our  family  and  among  our  children  gives 


*  Mr.  Benjamin  West,  the  painter,  with  whom  Dr.  Franklin  was  long  on 
.erms  of  intimate  friendship. — En. 

Y* 


532  FAMILY  AFFAIRS.  [Mr.  61. 

me  great  pleasure.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death  of  ou? 
good  old  friend  Debby  Norris.  She  was  a  worthy  good 
woman  and  will  be  missed.  If  I  can  in  any  shape  be  of 
service  to  Mr.  Francis,  you  may  depend  I  shall  do  it,  being 
much  concerned  for  his  misfortune.  I  am  told  the  affair  is 
like  to-  turn  out  better  for  him  than  was  expected.  Sally 
Franklin  is  now  in  the  country  with  her  father.  She  is  an 
only  child,  and  a  very  good  girl. 

I  received  the  watch  chain,  which  you  say  you  send  to  be 
put  to  rights.  I  do  not  see  what  it  wants.  Mrs.  Stevenson 
says  it  is  too  old-fashioned  for  Sally,  and  advised  sending  the 
watch  also,  to  be  changed  away  for  a  new  watch  and  chain. 

In  your  last  letters  you  say  nothing  concerning  Mr.  Bache. 
The  misfortune,  that  has  lately  happened  to  his  affairs, 
though  it  may  not  lessen  his  character  as  an  honest  or  a 
prudent  man,  will  probably  induce  him  to  forbear  entering 
hastily  into  a  state,  that  must  require  a  great  addition  to  his 
expense,  when  he  will  be  less  able  to  supply  it.  If  you  think 
that,  in  the  mean  time,  it  will  be  some  amusement  to  Sally 
to  visit  her  friends  here,  and  return  with  me,  I  should  have 
no  objection  to  her  coming  over  with  Captain  Falconer, 
provided  Mrs.  Falconer  comes  at  the  same  time,  as  is  talked 
of.  I  think  too  it  might  be  some  improvement  to  her.  1 
am  at  present  meditating  a  journey  somewhere,  perhaps  to 
Bath  or  Bristol ;  as  I  begin  to  find  a  little  giddiness  in  my 
head,  a  token  that  I  want  the  exercise  I  have  yearly  been 
accustomed  to.     I  long  to  see  you,  and  be  with  you. 

To  Joseph  The  confusion  among  our  great  men  stil) 
ted  °London"  continues  as  much  as  ever,  and  a  melancholy 
8  Aug.,  1767.  thing  it  is  to  consider,  that,  instead  of  employ- 
ing the  present  leisure  of  peace  in  such  measures  as  might 


JEt.  6i  .]  COALITION  MINIS  TRY.  533 

extend  our  commerce,  pay  off  our  debts,  secure  allies,  and 
increase  the  strength  and  ability  of  the  nation  to  support  a 
future  war,  the  whole  seems  to  be  wasted  in  party  conten- 
tions about  places  of  power  and  profit,  in  court  intrigues 
and  cabals,  and  in  abusing  one  another. 

There  has  lately  been  an  attempt  to  make  a  kind  of  coali- 
tion of  parties  in  a  new  ministry;  but  it  fell  through,  and 
the  present  set  is  like  to  continue  for  some  time  longer, 
which  I  am  rather  pleased  with,  as  some  of  those  who  were 
proposed  to  be  introduced  are  professed  adversaries  to 
America,  which  is  now  made  one  of  the  distinctions  of 
party  here ;  those  who  have  in  the  two  last  sessions  shown 
a  disposition  to  favor  us,  being  called  by  way  of  reproach, 
Americans ;  while  the  others,  adherents  to  Grenville  and 
Bedford,  value  themselves  on  being  true  to  the  interests  of 
Britain,  and  zealous  for  maintaining  its  dignity  and  sove- 
reignty over  the  colonies. 

This  distinction  will,  it  is  apprehended,  be  carried  much 
higher  in  the  next  session,  for  the  political  purpose  of  in- 
fluencing the  ensuing  election.  It  is  already  given  out  that 
the  compliance  of  New  York,  in  providing  for  the  quarters, 
without  taking  notice  of  its  being  done  in  obedience  to  the 
act  of  Parliament,  is  evasive  and  unsatisfactory ;  that  it  is 
high  time  to  put  the  right  and  power  of  this  country  to  tax 
the  colonies  out  of  dispute,  by  an  act  of  taxation,  effectually 
carried  into  execution,  and  that  all  the  colonies  should  be 
obliged  explicitly  to  acknowledge  that  right.  Every  step 
is  taking  to  render  the  taxing  of  America  a  popular  measure 
here,  by  continually  insisting  on  the  topics  of  our  wealth 
and  flourishing  circumstances,  while  this  country  is  loaded 
with  debt,  great  part  of  it  incurred  on  our  account,  the  dis- 
tress- of  the  poor  here  by  the  multitude  and  weight  of  taxes, 


534         TAXING  AMERICA   MADE   POPULAR.       [/Ex.  61 

&c.  &c. ;  and,  though  the  traders  and  manufacturers  may 
possibly  be  kept  in  our  interest,  the  idea  of  an  American 
tax  is  very  pleasing  to  the  landed  men,  who  therefore  readily 
receive  and  propagate  these  sentiments  wherever  they  have 
influence. 

If  such  a  bill  should  be  brought  in,  it  is  hard  to  say  what 
would  be  the  event  of  it,  or  what  would  be  the  effects. 
Those  who  oppose  it,  though  they  should  be  strong  enough 
to  throw  it  out,  would  be  stigmatized  as  Americans,  be- 
trayers of  Old  England,  &c,  and  perhaps,  our  friends  by 
this  means  being  excluded,  a  majority  of  our  adversaries 
may  get  in,  and  then  the  act  infallibly  passes  the  following 
session.  To  avoid  the  danger  of  such  exclusion,  perhaps 
little  opposition  will  be  given,  and  then  it  passes  immedi- 
ately. I  know  not  what  to  advise  on  this  occasion,  but  that 
we  should  all  do  our  endeavours  on  both  sides  of  the  water 
to  lessen  the  present  unpopularity  of  the  American  cause,  con 
ciliate  the  affections  of  people  here  towards  us,  increase  by  all 
possible  means  the  number  of  our  friends,  and  be  careful 
not  to  weaken  their  hands  and  strengthen  those  of  our  ene- 
mies by  rash  proceedings  on  our  side,  the  mischiefs  of  which 
are  inconceivable.  Some  of  our  friends  have  thought  that 
a  publication  of  my  Examination  here  might  answer  some 
of  the  above  purposes,  by  removing  prejudices,  refuting 
falsehoods,  and  demonstrating  our  merits  with  regard  to  this 
country.  It  is  accordingly  printed,  and  has  a  great  run.  I 
have  another  piece  in  hand,  which  I  intend  to  put  out  about 
the  time  of  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  if  those  I  consult 
with  shall  judge  that  it  may  be  of  service.* 


*  Probably  the  piece  entitled,  "  Causes  of  the  American  Discontents  be- 
fore 1768."     See  Sparks's  Works  of  Franklin,  vol.  iv.  p.  242. — Ed. 


iEr.  61.]    PAPER  MONEY  NOT  LEGAL    TENDER.     535 

The  next  session  of  Parliament  will  probably  be  a  short 
one,  on  account  of  the  following  election ;  and  I  am  now 
advised,  by  some  of  our  great  friends  here,  to  see  that  out, 
not  returning  to  America  till  the  spring.  My  presence 
indeed  is  necessary  there  to  settle  some  private  affairs.  Un- 
foreseen and  unavoidable  difficulties  have  hitherto  ob- 
structed our  proceedings  in  the  main  intent  of  my  coming 
over,  and  perhaps  (though  I  think  my  being  here  has  not 
been  altogether  unserviceable)  our  friends  in  the  Assembly 
may  begin  to  be  discouraged  and  tired  of  the  expense.  If 
that  should  be  the  case,  I  would  not  have  you  propose  to 
continue  me  as  agent  at  the  meeting  of  the  new  Assembly. 
My  endeavours  to  serve  the  province,  in  what  I  may  while 
I  remain  here,  shall  not  be  lessened  by  that  omission. 

I  am  glad  you  have  made  a  trial  of  paper  money,  not  a 
legal  tender.  The  quantity  being  small  may  perhaps  be 
kept  in  full  credit  notwithstanding;  and,  if  that  can  be 
avoided,  I  am  not  for  applying  here  again  very  soon  for  a 
repeal  of  the  restraining  act.  I  am  afraid  an  ill  use  will  be 
made  of  it.  The  plan  of  our  adversaries  is  to  render  As- 
semblies in  America  useless,  and  to  have  a  revenue,  inde- 
pendent of  their  grants,  for  all  the  purposes  of  their  defence 
and  supporting  governments  among  them.  It  is  our  interest 
to  prevent  this.  And,  that  they  may  not  lay  hold  of  our 
necessities  for  paper  money,  to  draw  a  revenue  from  that 
article  whenever  they  grant  us  the  liberty  we  want,  of  making 
it  a  legal  tender,  I  wish  some  other  method  may  be  fallen 
upon  of  supporting  its  credit.  What  think  you  of  getting 
all  the  merchants,  traders,  and  principal  people  of  all  sorts, 
to  join  in  petitions  to  the  Assembly  for  a  moderate  emission, 
the  petition  being  accompanied  with  a  mutual  engagement 
to  take  it  in  all  dealings  at  the  rates  fixed  by  law  ?  Such  an 
48 


53$ 


PAPER   MONEY  NOT  LEGAL    TENDER.    T^T.  61. 


engagement  had  a  great  effect  in  fixing  the  value  and  rates 
of  our  gold  and  silver.  Or,  perhaps,  a  bank  might  be 
established  that  would  answer  all  purposes.  Indeed  I  think 
with  you,  that  those  merchants  here,  who  have  made  diffi- 
culties on  the  subject  of  the  legal  tender,  have  not  under- 
stood their  own  interest.  For  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that, 
should  a  scarcity  of  money  continue  among  us,  we  shall  take 
off  less  of  their  merchandise,  and  attend  more  to  manufac- 
turing, and  raising  the  necessaries  and  superfluities  of  life 
among  ourselves,  which  we  now  receive  from  them.  And 
perhaps  this  consequence  would  attend  our  making  no  paper 
money  at  all  of  any  sort,  that,  being  thus  by  want  of  cash 
driven  to  industry  and  frugality,  we  should  gradually  become 
more  rich  without  their  trade,  than  we  can  possibly  be  with 
it,  and,  by  keeping  in  the  country  the  real  cash  that  comes 
into  it,  have  in  time  a  quantity  sufficient  for  all  our  occa- 
sions. But  I  suppose  our  people  will  scarce  have  patience 
to  wait  for  this. 

I  have  received  the  printed  votes,  but  not  the  laws. 
I  hear  nothing  yet  of  any  objection  made  by  the  Proprie- 
taries to  any  of  them  at  the  Board  of  Trade. 

Please  to  present  my  duty  to  the  Assembly,  with  thanks 
for  their  care  of  me,  and  assure  them  of  my  most  faithful 
services. 

To  William  Last  week  I  dined  at  Lord  Shelburne's,  and 
Governor  of  nac*  a  l°ng  conversation  with  him  and  Mr. 
New  jersey,    Conway  (there  being  no  other  company)  on 

dated       Lon- 

don,  28  Aug.,  the  subject  of  reducing  American  expense. 
l7b7-  They  have  it  in  contemplation  to  return  the 

management  of  Indian  affairs  into  the  hands  of  the  several 
provinces  on  which  the  nations  border,  that  the  colonies 


iET.  6i.]  THE    WALPOLE    GRANT.  537 

may  bear  the  charge  of  treaties,  &c,  which  they  think  will 
then  be  managed  more  frugally,  the  treasury  being  tired  with 
the  immense  drafts  of  the  superintendents.  I  took  the 
opportunity  of  urging  it  as  one  means  of  saving  expense  in 
supporting  the  outposts,  that  a  settlement  should  be  made 
in  the  Illinois  country;  expatiated  on  the  various  advan- 
tages, viz.  furnishing  provisions  cheaper  to  the  garrisons, 
securing  the  country,  retaining  the  trade,  raising  a  strength 
there,  which  on  occasion  of  a  future  war  might  easily  be 
poured  down  the  Mississippi  upon  the  lower  country,  and 
into  the  Bay  of  Mexico,  to  be  used  against  Cuba  or  Mexico 
itself.  I  mentioned  your  plan,  its  being  approved  by  Sir 
William  Johnson,  the  readiness  and  ability  of  the  gentlemen 
concerned  to  carry  the  settlement  into  execution,  with  very 
little  expense  to  the  crown,  &c.  The  secretaries  appeare'd 
finally  to  be  fully  convinced,  and  there  remained  no  ob- 
stacle but  the  Board  of  Trade,  which  was  to  be  brought 
over  privately,  before  the  matter  should  be  referred  to  them 
officially.  In  case  of  laying  aside  the  superintendents,  a 
provision  was  thought  of  for  Sir  William  Johnson.* 


*  The  subject  here  introduced,  which  is  frequently  mentioned  in  letters  to 
his  son,  relates  to  an  application  by  a  company  to  the  crown  for  the  grant  of 
a  tract  of  land  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  with  the  design  of  establishing  a  colony 
there.  It  was  called  Walpoles  Grant,  from  the  circumstance  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Walpole  having  been  the  principal  person  concerned  in  procuring  it.  The 
scheme  originated  with  Colonel  Croghan,  William  Franklin,  and  Sir  William 
Johnson.  The  project  is  intimated,  apparently  at  its  first  stage,  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Governor  Franklin  to  his  father. 

"  Colonel  Croghan  is  highly  incensed  at  the  treatment  he  has  received 
from  the  proprietary  officers  in  Pennsylvania,  and  has  been  a  means  of 
bringing  Sir  William  Johnson  and  General  Gage  to  think  favorably  of  the 
Assembly,  and  to  wish  them  success.  A  few  of  us,  from  his  encouragement, 
have  formed  a  company  to  purchase  of  the  French,  settled  at  the  Illinois, 
such  lands  as  they  have  a  good  title  to,  and  are  inclined  to  dispose  of.  But, 
as  I  thought  it  would  be  of  little  avail  to  buy  lands  in  that  country,  unless  3 


538         DISCOURSE    ON  AMERICAN  AFFAIRS.     [JEt.  6i. 

We  had  a  good  deal  of  farther  discourse  on  American 
affairs,  particularly  on  paper  money.  Lord  Shelburne  de- 
clared himself  fully  convinced  of  the  utility  of  taking  off 
the  restraint,  by  my  answer  to  the  Report  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.  General  Conway  had  not  seen  it,  and  desired  me 
to  send  it  to  him,  which  I  did  next  morning.  They  gave 
me  expectation  of  a  repeal  next  session,  Lord  Clare  being 
come  over;  but  they  said  there  was  some  difficulty  with 
others  at  the  Board,  who  had  signed  that  Report ;  for  there 
was  a  good  deal  in  what  Soame  Jenyns  had  laughingly  said, 
when  asked  to  concur  in  some  measure,  I  have  no  kind  of 
objection  to  it,  provided  we  have  heretofore  signed  nothing  to 
the  contrary. 

In  this  conversation  I  did  not  forget  our  main  Pennsyl- 
vania business,  and  I  think  made  some  farther  progress, 
though  but  little.  The  two  secretaries  seemed  intent  upon 
preparing  business  for  next  Parliament,  which  makes  me 
think,  that  the  late  projects  of  changes  are  now  quite  over, 
and  that  they  expect  to  continue  in  place.  But  whether 
they  will  do  much  or  little,  I  cannot  say. 

Du  Guerchy,  the  French  ambassador,  is  gone  home,  and 


colony  were  established  there,  I  have  drawn  up  some  proposals  for  that  pur- 
pose, which  are  much  approved  of  by  Colonel  Croghan  and  the  other  gen- 
tlemen concerned  in  Philadelphia,  and  are  sent  by  them  to  Sir  William 
Johnson  for  his  sentiments,  and,  when  we  receive  them,  the  whole  will  be 
forwarded  to  you.  It  is  proposed  that  the  company  shall  consist  of  twelve, 
now  in  America,  and,  if  you  like  the  proposals,  you  will  be  at  liberty  to  add 
yourself,  and  such  gentlemen  of  character  and  fortune  in  England,  as  you 
may  think  will  be  most  likely  to  promote  the  undertaking." — April 30th,  1766. 
The  plan  of  purchasing  of  the  French  seems  to  have  been  subsequently 
abandoned,  and  the  company  applied  to  the  crown  for  a  tract  of  unsettled 
lands  mostly  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Ohio  River.  Lord  Hills- 
borough opposed  the  petition,  and  one  of  Franklin's  ablest  papers  was  written 
in  reply  to  a  report  made  by  him  on  the  subject  to  the  Board  of  Trade. — S 


Mt.  6 i.]     ADVANCES   OF  FRENCH  AMBASSADOR.     539 

Monsieur  Durand  is  left  minister  plenipotentiary.  He  is 
extremely  curious  to  inform  himself  in  the  affairs  of  Amer- 
ica; pretends  to  have  a  great  esteem  for  me,  on  account  of 
the  abilities  shown  in  my  examination;  has  desired  to  have 
all  my  political  writings,  invited  me  to  dine  with  him,  was 
very  inquisitive,  treated  me  with  great  civility,  makes  me 
visits,  &c.  I  fancy  that  intriguing  nation  would  like  very 
well  to  meddle  on  occasion,  and  blow  up  the  coals  between 
Britain  and  her  colonies;  but  I  hope  we  shall  give  them  no 
opportunity. 

I  write  this  in  a  great  hurry,  being  setting  out  in  an  hour 
on  another  journey  with  my  steady,  good  friend,  Sir  John 
Pringle.  We  propose  to  visit  Paris.  Durand  has  given  me 
letters  of  recommendation  to  the  Lord  knows  who.  I  am 
told  I  shall  meet  with  great  respect  there;*  but  winds 
change,  and  perhaps  it  will  be  full  as  well  if  I  do  not.  We 
shall  be  gone  six  weeks.  I  have  a  little  private  commission 
to  transact,  of  which  more  another  time. 

Communicate  nothing  of  this  letter  but  privately  to  our 
friend  Galloway. 

To  Miss  Mary  Soon  after  I  left  you  in  that  agreeable  society 
dlted^Paris     at  Bromley,  I  took  the  resolution  of  making  a 

14  September,  trip  with  Sir  John  Pringle  into  France.  We 
1767 

set  out  on    the    28th   past.     All    the   way  to 

Dover  we  were  furnished  with  postchaises,  hung  so  as  to 

lean  forward,  the  top  coming  down  over  one's  eyes,  like  a 

hood,  as  if  to  prevent  one's  seeing  the  country;    which 


*  This  is  the  first  intimation  we  have  from  Franklin  of  the  tendency  of 
France  and  the  British  American  colonies  to  gravitate  towards  a  common 
tentre,  a  tendency  pregnant  with  such  important  consequences. — Ed. 
48* 


540  TRIP    TO   PARIS.  |_iET.  61. 

being  one  of  my  great  pleasures,  I  was  engaged  in  perpetual 
disputes  with  the  innkeepers,  ostlers,  and  postilions,  about 
getting  the  straps  taken  up  a  hole  or  two  before,  and  let 
down  as  much  behind,  they  insisting  that  the  chaise  leaning 
forward  was  an  ease  to  the  horses,  and  that  the  contrary 
would  kill  them.  I  suppose  the  chaise  leaning  forward 
looks  to  them  like  a  willingness  to  go  forward,  and  that  its 
hanging  back  shows  reluctance.  They  added  other  reasons, 
that  were  no  reasons  at  all,  and  made  me,  as  upon  a  hundred 
other  occasions,  almost  wish  that  mankind  had  never  been 
endowed  with  a  reasoning  faculty,  since  they  know  so  little 
how  to  make  use  of  it,  and  so  often  mislead  themselves  by 
it,  and  that  they  had  been  furnished  with  a  good  sensible 
instinct  instead  of  it. 

At  Dover,  the  next  morning,  we  embarked  for  Calais 
with  a  number  of  passengers,  who  had  never  before  been  at 
sea.  They  would  previously  make  a  hearty  breakfast,  be- 
cause, if  the  wind  should  fail,  we  might  not  get  over  till 
supper  time.  Doubtless  they  thought,  that,  when  they  had 
paid  for  their  breakfast,  they  had  a  right  to  it,  and  that, 
when  they  had  swallowed  it,  they  were  sure  of  it.  But 
they  had  scarce  been  out  half  an  hour,  before  the  sea  laid 
claim  to  it,  and  they  were  obliged  to  deliver  it  up.  So 
that  it  seems  there  are  uncertainties,  even  beyond  those 
between  the  cup  and  the  lip.  If  ever  you  go  to  sea,  take 
my  advice,  and  live  sparingly  a  day  or  two  beforehand. 
The  sickness,  if  any,  will  be  lighter  and  sooner  over.  We 
got  to  Calais  that  evening. 

Various  impositions  we  suffered  from  boatmen,  porters, 
and  the  like,  on  both  sides  the  water.  I  know  not  which 
are  most  rapacious,  the  English  or  French,  but  the  latter 
have,  with  their  knavery,  most  politeness. 


1  /r.  6 i  ."]  R OADS.— PEASANTS.—  WOMEN.  5 4 1 

The  roads  we  found  equally  good  with  ours  in  England, 
in  some  places  paved  with  smooth  stones,  like  our  new 
streets,  for  many  miles  together,  and  rows  of  trees  on  each 
side,  and  yet  there  are  no  turnpikes.  But  then  the  poor 
peasants  complained  to  us  grievously,  that  they  were  obliged 
to  work  upon  the  roads  full  two  months  in  the  year,  without 
being  paid  for  their  labor.  Whether  this  is  truth,  or 
whether,  like  Englishmen,  they  grumble,  cause  or  no  cause, 
I  have  not  yet  been  able  fully  to  inform  myself. 

The  women  we  saw  at  Calais,  on  the  road,  at  Boulogne, 
and  in  the  inns  and  villages,  were  generally  of  dark  com- 
plexions; but  arriving  at  Abbeville  we  found  a  sudden 
change,  a  multitude  of  both  women  and  men  in  that  place 
appearing  remarkably  fair.  Whether  this  is  owing  to  a 
small  colony  of  spinners,  wool -combers,  and  weavers, 
brought  hither  from  Holland  with  the  woollen  manufactory 
about  sixty  years  ago,  or  to  their  being  less  exposed  to  the 
sun,  than  in  other  places,  their  business  keeping  them  much 
within  doors,  I  know  not.  Perhaps,  as  in  some  other  cases, 
different  causes  may  club  in  producing  the  effect,  but  the 
effect  itself  is  certain.  Never  was  I  in  a  place  of  greater 
industry,  wheels  and  looms  going  in  every  house. 

As  soon  as  we  left  Abbeville,  the  swarthiness  returned. 
I  speak  generally ;  for  here  are  some  fair  women  at  Paris, 
who,  I  think,  are  not  whitened  by  art.  As  to  rouge,  they 
don't  pretend  to  imitate  nature  in  laying  it  on.  There  is 
no  gradual  diminution  of  the  color,  from  the  full  bloom  in 
the  middle  of  the  cheek  to  the  faint  tint  near  the  sides,  nor 
does  it  show  itself  differently  in  different  faces.  I  have  not 
had  the  honor  of  being  at  any  lady's  toilette  to  see  how  it 
is  laid  on,  but  I  fancy  I  can  tell  you  how  it  is  or  may  be 
done.     Cut  a  hole  of  three  inches  diameter  in  a  piece  of 


542  FASHION.— THE    QUEEN.  |_^T-  6l- 

paper ;  place  it  on  the  side  of  your  face  in  such  a  manner, 
as  that  the  top  of  the  hole  may  be  just  under  the  eye;  then, 
with  a  brush  dipped  in  the  color,  paint  face  and  paper 
together;  so  when  the  paper  is  taken  off,  there  will  remain 
a  round  patch  of  red  exactly  the  form  of  the  hole.  This 
is  the  mode,  from  the  actresses  on  the  stage  upwards  through 
all  ranks  of  ladies  to  the  princesses  of  the  blood;  but  it 
stops  there,  the  Queen  not  using  it,  having  in  the  serenity, 
complacence,  and  benignity,  that  shine  so  eminently  in,  or 
rather  through  her  countenance,  sufficient  beauty,  though 
now  an  old  woman,  to  do  extremely  well  without  it. 

You  see  I  speak  of  the  Queen  as  if  I  had  seen  her;  and 
so  I  have,  for  you  must  know  I  have  been  at  court.  We 
went  to  Versailles  last  Sunday,  and  had  the  honor  of  being 
presented  to  the  King ;  he  spoke  to  both  of  us  very  gra- 
ciously and  very  cheerfully,  is  a  handsome  man,  has  a  very 
lively  look,  and  appears  younger  than  he  is.  In  the  evening 
we  were  at  the  Grand  Couvert,  where  the  family  sup  in 
public.  The  table  was  half  a  hollow  square,  the  service 
gold.  When  either  made  a  sign  for  drink,  the  word  was 
given  by  one  of  the  waiters;  A  boire pour  le  Rot,  or  A  boire 
pour  la  Reine.  Then  two  persons  came  from  within,  the 
one  with  wine  and  the  other  with  water  in  carafes;  each 
drank  a  little  glass  of  what  he  brought,  and  then  put  both 
the  carafes  with  a  glass  on  a  salver,  and  then  presented  it. 
Their  distance  from  each  other  was  such,  as  that  othei 
chairs  might  have  been  placed  between  any  two  of  them. 
Aji  officer  of  the  court  brought  us  up  through  the  crowd  of 
spectators,  and  placed  Sir  John  so  as  to  stand  between  the 
Queen  and  Madame  Victoire.  The  King  talked  a  good 
deal  to  Sir  John,  asking  many  questions  about  our  roya) 
family ;  and  did  me  too  the  honor  of  taking  some  notice 


-Et.  6i.]  THE  KING.— VERSAILLES.  543 

of  me ;  that  is  saying  enough ;  for  I  would  not  have  you 
think  me  so  much  pleased  with  this  King  and  Queen,  as 
to  have  a  whit  less  regard  than  I  used  to  have  for  ours. 
No  Frenchman  shall  go  beyond  me  in  thinking  my  own 
King  and  Queen  the  very  best  in  the  world,  and  the  most 
amiable. 

Versailles  has  had  infinite  sums  laid  out  in  building  it 
and  supplying  it  with  water.  Some  say  the  expenses  ex- 
ceeded eighty  millions  sterling.  The  range  of  buildings  is 
immense;  the  garden-front  most  magnificent,  all  of  hewn 
stone;  the  number  of  statues,  figures,  urns,  &c,  in  marble 
and  bronze  of  exquisite  workmanship,  is  beyond  conception. 
But  the  water-works  are  out  of  repair,  and  so  is  great  part 
of  the  front  next  the  town,  looking  with  its  shabby,  half- 
brick  walls,  and  broken  windows,  not  much  better  than  the 
houses  in  Durham  Yard.  There  is,  in  short,  both  at  Ver- 
sailles and  Paris,  a  prodigious  mixture  of  magnificence  and 
negligence,  with  every  kind  of  elegance  except  that  of 
cleanliness,  and  what  we  call  tidiness.  Though  I  must  do 
Paris  the  justice  to  say,  that  in  two  points  of  cleanliness 
they  exceed  us.  The  water  they  drink,  though  from  the 
river,  they  render  as  pure  as  that  of  the  best  spring,  by 
filtering  it  through  cisterns  filled  with  sand;  and  the  streets 
with  constant  sweeping  are  fit  to  walk  in,  though  there  is 
no  paved  footpath.  Accordingly,  many  well  dressed  people 
are  constantly  seen  walking  in  them.  The  crowd  of  coaches 
and  chairs  for  this  reason  is  not  so  great.  Men,  as  well  as 
women,  carry  umbrellas  in  their  hands,  which  they  extend 
in  case  of  rain  or  too  much  sun;  and,  a  man  with  an 
umbrella  not  taking  up  more  than  three  foot  square,  or  nine 
square  feet  of  the  street,  when,  if  in  a  coach,  he  would  take 
up  two  hundred  and  forty  square  feet,  you  can  easily  con- 


544  FIRST  IMPRESSIONS   OF  PARIS.  [Mr.  61. 

ceive,  that,  though  the  streets  here  are  narrow,  they  may 
be  much  less  encumbered.  They  are  extremely  well  paved, 
and  the  stones,  being  generally  cubes,  when  worn  on  one 
side,  may  be  turned  and  become  new. 

The  civilities  we  everywhere  receive  give  us  the  strongest 
impressions  of  the  French  politeness.  It  seems  to  be  a 
point  settled  here  universally,  that  strangers  are  to  be 
treated  with  respect ;  and  one  has  just  the  same  deference 
shown  one  here  by  being  a  stranger,  as  in  England  by  being 
a  lady.  The  custom-house  officers  at  Port  St.  Denis,  as  we 
entered  Paris,  were  about  to  seize  two  dozen  of  excellent 
Bordeaux  wine  given  us  at  Boulogne,  and  which  we  brought 
with  us;  but,  as  soon  as  they  found  we  were  strangers,  it 
was  immediately  remitted  on  that  account.  At  the  Church 
of  Notre  Dame,  where  we  went  to  see  a  magnificent  illu- 
mination, with  figures,  &c,  for  the  deceased  Dauphiness, 
we  found  an  immense  crowd,  who  were  kept  out  by  guards; 
but,  the  officer  being  told  that  we  were  strangers  from  Eng- 
land, he  immediately  admitted  us,  accompanied  and  showed 
us  every  thing.  Why  don't  we  practise  this  urbanity  to 
Frenchmen?  Why  should  they  be  allowed  to  outdo  us  in 
any  thing? 

Here  is  an  exhibition  of  painting,  like  ours  in  London, 
to  which  multitudes  flock  daily.  I  am  not  connoisseur 
enough  to  judge  which  has  most  merit.  Every  night, 
Sundays  not  excepted,  here  are  plays  or  operas ;  and,  though 
the  weather  has  been  hot,  and  the  houses  full,  one  is  not 
incommoded  by  the  heat  so  much  as  with  us  in  winter. 
They  must  have  some  way  of  changing  the  air,  that  we  are 
not  acquainted  with.     I  shall  inquire  into  it. 

Travelling  is  one  way  of  lengthening  life,  at  least  in 
appearance.     It  is  but  about  a  fortnight  since  we  left  Lon- 


ifiT.  61.]         FIRST  IMPRESSIONS    OF  PARIS.  545 

don,  but  the  variety  of  scenes  we  have  gone  through  makes 
it  seem  equal  to  six  months  living  in  one  place.  Perhaps  I 
have  suffered  a  greater  change,  too,  in  my  own  person,  than 
I  could  have  done  in  six  years  at  home.  I  had  not  been  here 
six  days,  before  my  tailor  and  perruquier  had  transformed 
me  into  a  Frenchman.  Only  think  what  a  figure  I  make 
in  a  little  bag-wig  and  with  naked  ears  !  They  told  me  I 
was  become  twenty  years  younger,  and  looked  very  gallant. 

This  letter  shall  cost  you  a  shilling,  and  you  may  con- 
sider it  cheap,  when  you  reflect,  that  it  has  cost  me  at  least 
fifty  guineas  to  get  into  the  situation,  that  enables  me  to 
write  it.  Besides,  I  might,  if  I  had  stayed  at  home,  have 
won  perhaps  two  shillings  of  you  at  cribbage.  By  the  way, 
now  I  mention  cards,  let  me  tell  you  that  quadrille  is  now 
out  of  fashion  here,  and  English  whist  all  the  mode  at  Paris 
and  the  court. 

And  pray  look  upon  it  as  no  small  matter,  that,  surrounded 
as  I  am  by  the  glories  of  the  world,  and  amusements  of 
all  sorts,  I  remember  you,  and  Dolly,  and  all  the  dear  good 
folks  at  Bromley.  It  is  true,  I  cannot  help  it,  but  must  and 
*;ver  shall  remember  you  all  with  pleasure. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Walpole  Grant  again — Change  of  Ministry — Hillsborough  named  Sec 
retary  of  State  for  America — Franklin  edits  "  The  Farmer's  Letters"— 
Particulars  of  his  Election  to  the  Royal  Society — Powers  of  Parliament 
over  the  Colonies  defined — Corruption  at  Elections — Dissolution  of  Par- 
liament. 

I767-1768. 

To  William  I  think  the  New  Yorkers  have  been  very 
ted*"  London"  discreet  *n  forbearing  to  write  and  publish 
25  Nov.,  1767.  against  the  late  act  of  Parliament.  I  wish  the 
Boston  people  had  been  as  quiet,  since  Governor  Bernard 
has  sent  over  all  their  violent  papers  to  the  ministry,  and 
wrote  them  word  that  he  daily  expected  a  rebellion.  He 
did  indeed  afterwards  correct  this  extravagance,  by  writing 
again,  that  he  now  understood  those  papers  were  approved 
by  few,  and  disliked  by  all  the  sober,  sensible  people  of  the 
province.  A  certain  noble  Lord  expressed  himself  to  me 
with  some  disgust  and  contempt  of  Bernard  on  this  occasion, 
saying  he  ought  to  have  known  his  people  better,  than  to 
impute  to  the  whole  country  sentiments,  that  perhaps  are 
only  scribbled  by  some  madman  in  a  garret ;  that  he  ap- 
peared to  be  too  fond  of  contention,  and  mistook  the  matter 
greatly,  in  supposing  such  letters  as  he  wrote  were  accept- 
able to  the  ministry.  I  have  heard  nothing  of  the  appoint- 
546 


JET.  Oi.j  THE    WALPOLE    GRANT.  547 

ment  of  General  Clark  to  New  York  ;  but  I  know  he  is  a 
friend  of  Lord  Shelburne's,  and  the  same  that  recommended 
Mr.  Maclean  to  be  his  secretary.  Perhaps  it  might  be  talked 
of  in  my  absence. 

The  commissioners  for  the  American  Board  went  hence 
while  I  was  in  France.  You  know  before  this  time  who  they 
are,  and  how  they  are  received,  which  I  want  to  hear. 
Mr.  Williams,  who  is  gone  in  some  office  with  them,  is 
brother  to  our  cousin  Williams  of  Boston ;  but  I  assure  you 
I  had  not  the  least  share  in  his  appointment,  having,  as  I 
told  you  before,  carefully  kept  out  of  the  way  of  that  whole 
affair. 

As  soon  as  I  received  Mr.  Galloway's,  Mr.  Samuel  Whar- 
ton's, and  Mr.  Croghan's  letters  on  the  subject  of  the 
boundary,  I  communicated  them  immediately  to  Lord 
Shelburne.  He  invited  me  the  next  day  to  dine  with  him. 
Lord  Clare  was  to  have  been  there,  but  did  not  come. 
There  was  nobody  but  Mr.  Maclean.  My  Lord  knew 
nothing  of  the  boundary's  having  ever  been  agreed  on  by 
Sir  William,  had  sent  the  letters  to  the  Board  of  Trade, 
desiring  search  to  be  made  there  for  Sir  William's  letters, 
and  ordered  Mr.  Maclean  to  search  the  secretary's  office, 
who  found  nothing.  We  had  much  discourse  about  it,  and 
I  pressed  the  importance  of  despatching  orders  immediately 
to  Sir  William  to  complete  the  affair.  His  Lordship  asked 
who  was  to  make  the  purchase,  that  is,  be  at  the  expense. 
I  said,  that,  if  the  line  included  any  lands  within  the  grants 
of  the  charter  colonies,  they  should  pay  the  purchase  money 
of  such  proportion.  If  any  within  the  proprietary  grants, 
they  should  pay  their  proportion  j  but  that  what  was  within 
royal  governments,  where  the  King  granted  the  lands,  the 
crown  should  pay  for  that  proportion.  His  Lordship  was 
49  z 


548  THE   W ALP  OLE    GRANT.  [^Et.  6i. 

pleased  to  say,  he  thought  this  reasonable.  He  finally 
desired  me  to  go  to  Lord  Clare,  as  from  him,  and  urge  the 
business  there,  which  I  undertook  to  do. 

Among  other  things  at  this  conversation,  we  talked  of  the 
new  settlement.  His  Lordship  told  me  he  had  himself 
drawn  up  a  paper  of  reasons  for  those  settlements,  which  r.  e 
laid  before  the  King  in  Council,  acquainting  them  that  he 
did  not  offer  them  merely  as  his  own  sentiments ;  they  were 
what  he  had  collected  from  General  Amherst,  Dr.  Franklin, 
and  Mr.  Jackson,  three  gentlemen  that  were  allowed  to  be 
the  best  authorities  for  anything  that  related  to  America. 
I  think  he  added  that  the  Council  seemed  to  approve  of  the 
design.  I  know  it  was  referred  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  who 
I  believe  have  not  yet  reported  on  it,  and  I  doubt  will 
report  against  it.  My  Lord  told  me  one  pleasant  circum- 
stance, viz.  that  he  had  shown  his  paper  to  the  Dean  of 
Gloucester  (Tucker),  to  hear  his  opinion  of  the  matter; 
who  very  sagaciously  remarked,  that  he  was  sure  that  papei 
was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Franklin ;  he  saw  him  in  every  para 
graph;  adding,  that  Dr.  Franklin  wanted  to  remove  the 
seat  of  government  to  America ;  that,  says  he,  is  his  c»n 
stant  plan. 

I  waited  next  morning  upon  Lord  Clare,  and  pressed  tne 
matter  of  the  boundary  closely  upon  him.  He  said  they  could 
not  find  they  had  ever  received  any  letters  from  Sir  William 
concerning  this  boundary,  but  were  searching  farther ; 
agreed  to  the  necessity  of  settling  it ;  but  thought  there 
would  be  some  difficulty  about  who  should  pay  the  purchase 
money ;  for  that  this  country  was  already  so  loaded,  it  could 
bear  no  more.  We  then  talked  of  the  new  colonies.  I 
found  he  was  inclined  to  think  one  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio  might  be  of  use  in  securing  the  country,  but  did  no* 


Ml.  61.]      PAPER   MO NEY  IN  PENNSYLVANIA.         fog 

much  approve  that  at  Detroit.  And,  as  to  the  trade,  he 
imagined  it  would  be  of  little  consequence,  if  we  had  all  the 
peltry  to  be  purchased  there,  but  supposed  our  traders  would 
sell  it  chiefly  to  the  French  and  Spaniards  at  New  Orleans, 
as  he  heard  they  had  hitherto  done. 

At  the  same  time  that  we  Americans  wish  not  to  be  judged 
of,  in  the  gross,  by  particular  papers  written  by  anonymous 
scribblers  and  published  in  the  colonies,  it  would  be  well 
if  we  could  avoid  falling  into  the  same  mistake  in  America, 
in  judging  of  ministers  here  by  the  libels  printed  against 
them.  The  enclosed  is  a  very  abusive  one,  in  which  if  there 
is  any  foundation  of  truth,  it  can  only  be  in  the  insinuation 
contained  in  the  words  "after  eleven  adjournments"  that 
they  are  too  apt  to  postpone  business ;  but,  if  they  have 
given  any  occasion  for  this  reflection,  there  are  reasons  and 
circumstances  that  may  be  urged  in  their  excuse. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  hear,  that  the  people  of  the  other 
colonies  are  not  insensible  of  the  zeal,  with  which  I  occa- 
sionally espouse  their  respective  interests,  as  well  as  the 
interests  of  the  whole.  I  shall  continue  to  do  so  as  long  as 
I  reside  here  and  am  able. 

To  Joseph  I  am  inclined  to  think  with  you,  that  the 
ted  °London  sma^  sum  vou  nave  issued  to  discharge  the 
i  Dec,  1767.  public  debts  only  will  not  be  materially  af- 
fected in  its  credit  for  want  of  the  legal  tender,  considering 
especially  the  present  extreme  want  of  money  in  the  prov- 
ince. You  appear  to  me  to  point  out  the  true  cause  of  the 
general  distress,  viz.  the  late  luxurious  mode  of  living  intro- 
duced by  a  too  great  plenty  of  cash.  It  is  indeed  amazing 
to  consider,  that  we  had  a  quantity  sufficient  before  the 
war  began,  and  that  the  war  added  immensely  to  that  quan- 


550  MR.  G RENVILLE.  \ <Et.  61. 

tity,  by  the  sums  spent  among  us  by  the  crown,  and  the 
paper  struck  and  issued  in  the  province ;  and  now  in  so  few 
years  all  the  money  spent  by  the  crown  is  gone  away,  and 
has  carried  with  it  all  the  gold  and  silver  we  had  before, 
leaving  us  bare  and  empty,  and  at  the  same  time  more  in 
debt  to  England  than  ever  we  were.  But  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  that  the  mere  making  more  money  will  not  mend  our 
circumstances,  if  we  do  not  return  to  that  industry  and  fru- 
gality, which  were  the  fundamental  causes  of  our  former 
prosperity.  I  shall  nevertheless  do  my  utmost  this  winter 
to  obtain  the  repeal  of  the  act  restraining  the  legal  tender, 
if  our  friends  the  merchants  think  it  practicable,  and  will 
heartily  espouse  the  cause ;  and,  in  truth,  they  have  full  as 
much  interest  in  the  event  as  we  have. 

The  present  ministry,  it  is  now  thought,  are  likely  to  con- 
tinue at  least  till  a  new  Parliament ;  so  that  our  apprehen- 
sions of  a  change,  and  that  Mr.  Grenville  would  come  in 
again,  seem  over  for  the  present.  He  behaves  as  if  a  little 
out  of  his  head  on  the  article  of  America,  which  he  brings 
into  every  debate  without  rhyme  or  reason,  when  the  matter 
has  not  the  least  connexion  with  it.  Thus,  at  the  beginning 
of  this  session  on  the  debate  upon  the  King's  speech,  he 
tired  everybody,  even  his  friends,  with  a  long  harangue 
about  and  against  America,  of  which  there  was  not  a  word 
in  the  speech.  Last  Friday  he  produced  in  the  House  a 
late  Boston  Gazette,  which  he  said  denied  the  legislative 
authority  of  Parliament,  was  treasonable,  rebellious,  &c, 
and  moved  it  might  be  read,  and  that  the  House  would  take 
cognizance  of  it ;  but,  it  being  moved  on  the  other  hand 
that  Mr.  Grenville's  motion  should  be  postponed  to  that 
day  six  months,  it  was  carried  without  a  division ;  and,  as 
it  is  known  that  this  Parliament  will  expire  before  that  time, 


Mr.  6 1 .]  B  OS  TON  RE  SOL  UTIONS.  5  5  1 

it  was  equivalent  to  a  total  rejection  of  the  motion.  The 
Duke  of  Bedford,  too,  it  seems,  moved  in  vain  for  a  con- 
sideration of  this  paper  in  the  House  of  Lords.  These  are 
favorable  symptoms  of  the  present  disposition  of  Parliament 
towards  America,  which  I  hope  no  conduct  of  the  Americans 
will  give  just  cause  of  altering. 

To  William  The  resolutions  of  the  Boston  people  con- 
ted3  London"  corning  trade  make  a  great  noise  here.  Par- 
10  Dec,  1767.  Hament  has  not  yet  taken  notice  of  them,  but 
the  newspapers  are  in  full  cry  against  America.  Colonel 
Onslow  told  me  at  court  last  Sunday,  that  I  could  not  con- 
ceive how  much  the  friends  of  America  were  run  upon  and 
hurt  by  them,  and  how  much  the  Grenvillians  triumphed. 
I  have  just  written  a  paper  for  next  Tuesday's  Chronicle  to 
extenuate  matters  a  little.* 

Mentioning  Colonel  Onslow  reminds  me  of  something, 
that  passed  at  the  beginning  of  this  session  in  the  House 


*  Scarcely  had  Franklin  returned  to  London  from  his  continental  trip, 
when  news  arrived  of  the  retaliatory  measures  which  the  series  of  revenue 
acts  of  Parliament  had  provoked  in  Boston.  They  were  regarded  as  but  the 
Stamp  Act  in  a  new  disguise,  and  as  a  continuation  of  a  policy  which  it  was 
hoped  had  been  abandoned  with  that  odious  measure.  Disappointed  and 
indignant,  the  Bostonians  assembled  in  town  meeting,  formally  recommended 
the  encouragement  of  domestic  manufactures  and  the  abandonment  of  all 
superfluities,  and  engaged  themselves,  after  a  stated  time,  to  eschew  entirely 
the  use  of  certain  specified  articles  of  foreign  manufacture. 

These  resolutions,  adopted  on  the  28th  of  October,  1767,  produced 
scarcely  less  excitement  in  England  than  the  acts  of  Parliament  which  pro- 
voked them  had  produced  in  the  colonies.  They  were  denounced  as  de- 
liberately disrespectful  to  Parliament,  and  little  short  of  rebellious.  These 
threats  from  the  colonies  worried  Franklin,  because  they  strengthened  the 
enemies  of  the  actual  ministry,  which  was  doing  the  best  it  could  for  America. 
To  calm  the  excitement,  Dr.  Franklin  wrote  a  paper  which  was  printed, 
though,  as  Dr.  Franklin  said,  with  the  teeth  drawn  and  the  nails  pared,  that 


552  BOSTON  RESOLUTIONS.  [iET.  6l 

between  him  and  Mr.  Grenville.  The  latter  had  been 
raving  against  America,  as  traitorous,  rebellious,  &c,  when 
the  former,  who  has  always  been  its  firm  friend,  stood  up 
and  gravely  said,  that  in  reading  the  Roman  history  he 
found  it  was  a  custom  among  that  wise  and  magnanimous 
people,  whenever  the  senate  was  informed  of  any  discontent 
in  the  provinces,  to  send  two  or  three  of  their  body  into 
the  discontented  provinces,  to  inquire  into  the  grievances 
complained  of,  and  report  to  the  senate,  that  mild  measures 
might  be  used  to  remedy  what  was  amiss,  before  any  severe 
steps  were  taken  to  enforce  obedience;  that  this  example 
he  thought  worthy  of  our  imitation  in  the  present  state  of 
our  colonies,  for  he  did  so  far  agree  with  the  honorable 
gentleman,  that  spoke  just  before  him,  as  to  allow  there 
were  great  discontents  among  them.  He  should  therefore 
beg  leave  to  move,  that  two  or  three  members  of  Parliament 
be  appointed  to  go  over  to  New  England  on  this  service. 
And  that  it  might  not  be  supposed  he  was  for  imposing 
burdens  on  others,  which  he  would  not  be  willing  to  bear 
himself,  he  did  at  the  same  time  declare  his  own  willing- 
ness, if  the  House  should  think  fit  to  appoint  them,  to  go 
over  thither  with  that  honorable  gentleman.  Upon  this  there 
was  a  great  laugh,  which  continued  some  time,  and  was 
rather  increased  by  Mr.  Grenville's  asking,  "  Will  the  gen- 
tleman engage,  that  I  shall  be  safe  there  ?    Can  I  be  assured 


it  could  neither  scratch  nor  bite,  in  the  London  Chronicle,  entitled  "  Causes 
of  the  American  Discontents  before  1768."  It  did  not  save  the  ministry, 
however.  The  king  was  determined  that  the  colonies  should  feel  and  re- 
spect his  power,  and  so  at  the  commencement  of  the  following  year  Lord 
Hillsborough  took  the  place  of  Lord  Shelburne,  and  was  made  Secretary  of 
State  for  America,  a  newly-created  department,  and  was  also  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  Board  of  Trade.— Ed. 


JEt.  61.]  AMERICAN  REPRESENTATION.  553 

that  I  shall  be  allowed  to  come  back  again  to  make  the 
report?"  As  soon  as  the  laugh  was  so  far  subsided,  as  that 
Mr.  Onslow  could  be  heard  again,  he  added,  "  I  cannot 
absolutely  engage  for  the  honorable  gentleman's  safe  return ; 
but  if  he  goes  thither  upon  this  service,  I  am  strongly  of 
opinion  the  event  will  contribute  greatly  to  the  future  quiet 
of  both  countries."  On  which  the  laugh  was  renewed  and 
redoubled. 

If  our  people  should  follow  the  Boston  example  in  enter- 
ing into  resolutions  of  frugality  and  industry,  full  as  neces- 
sary for  us  as  for  them,  I  hope  they  will  among  other  things 
give  this  reason,  that  it  is  to  enable  them  more  speedily  and 
effectually  to  discharge  their  debts  to  Great  Britain.  This 
will  soften  a  little,  and  at  the  same  time  appear  honorable 
and  like  ourselves. 


TojohnRoss,        The  instruction  you  mention,  as  proposed  by 

dated       Lon-  __ .  11  mj 

don,  13  Dec,  a  certain  great  man,  was  really  a  wild  one. 
1767-  The  reasons  you  made  use  of  against  it  were 

clear  and  strong,  and  could  not  but  prevail.  It  will  be  time 
enough  to  show  a  dislike  to  the  coalition,  when  it  is  pro- 
posed to  us.  Meanwhile  we  have  all  the  advantage  in  the 
argument  of  taxation,  which  our  not  being  represented  will 
continue  to  give  us.  I  think,  indeed,  that  such  an  event 
is  very  remote.  This  nation  is  indeed  too  proud  to  propose 
admitting  American  representatives  into  their  Parliament ; 
and  America  is  not  so  humble,  or  so  fond  of  the  honor,  as 
to  petition  for  it.  In  matrimonial  matches  it  is  said,  when 
one  party  is  willing,  the  match  is  half  made ;  but,  where 
neither  party  is  willing,  there  is  no  great  danger  of  their 
coming  together.  And,  to  be  sure,  such  an  important 
business  would  never  be  treated  of  by  agents  unempowered 


554 


ELECTION   TO    THE   ROYAL    SOCIETY.     [JEt.  6i. 


and  uninstructed  ;  nor  would  government  here  act  upon  the 
private  opinion  of  agents,  which  might  be  disowned  by  their 
constituents. 

The  present  ministry  seem  now  likely  to  continue  through 
this  session ;  and  this,  as  a  new  election  approaches,  gives 
them  the  advantage  of  getting  so  many  of  their  friends  chosen 
as  may  give  a  stability  to  their  administration.  I  heartily 
wish  it,  because  they  are  all  well  disposed  towards  America 

To    William        Dear  Son, — We  have  had  an  ugly  affair  at 

Franklin,  da- 

ted  London,  the  Royal  Society  lately.  One  Dacosta,  a  Jew, 
19  December,    wno  as  our  cierk  was  intrusted  with  collecting 

our  monies  has  been  so  unfaithful  as  to  em- 
bezzle near  ^1300  in  four  years.  Being  one  of  the  council 
this  year  as  well  as  the  last,  I  have  been  employed  all  the 
last  week  in  attending  the  enquiry  into  and  unravelling  his 
accounts  in  order  to  come  to  a  full  knowledge  of  his  frauds. 
His  securities  are  bound  in  one  thousand  pounds  to  the 
Society,  which  they  will  pay,  but  we  shall  probably  lose 
the  rest.  He  had  this  year  received  twenty- six  admission 
payments  of  twenty-five  guineas  each,  which  he  did  not 
bring  to  account. 

While  attending  to  this  affair  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
looking  over  the  old  council-books  and  journals  of  the 
Society,  and  having  a  curiosity  to  see  how  I  came  in,  of 
which  I  had  never  been  informed,  I  looked  back  for  the 
minutes  relating  to  it.  You  must  know  it  is  not  usual  to 
admit  persons  who  have  not  requested  to  be  admitted,  and 
a  recommendatory  certificate  in  favor  of  the  candidate, 
signed  by  at  least  three  of  the  members,  is  by  our  rule  to 
be  presented  to  the  Society,  expressing  that  he  is  desirous 
of  that  honor,  and  is  so  and  so  qualified.     As  I  never  had 


Mr.  62.]  CHANGE    OF  MINISTERS.  555 

asked  or  expected  the  honor,  I  was,  as  I  said  before, 
curious  to  see  how  the  business  was  managed.  I  found  that 
the  certificate,  worded  very  advantageously  for  me,  was 
signed  by  Lord  Macclesfield  then  President,  Lord  Parker 
and  Lord  Willoughby ;  that  the  election  was  by  a  unani- 
mous vote ;  and  the  honor  being  voluntarily  conferred  by 
the  Society,  unsolicited  by  me,  it  was  thought  wrong  to 
demand  or  receive  the  usual  fees  or  composition  ;  so  that 
my  name  was  entered  on  the  list  with  a  vote  of  council  that 
I  was  not  to  pay  any  thing,  and  accordingly  nothing  has  ever 
been  demanded  of  me.  Those  who  are  admitted  in  the 
common  way,  pay  five  guineas  admission  fees,  and  two 
guineas  and  a  half  yearly  contribution,  or  twenty-five 
guineas  down  in  lieu  of  it.  In  my  case  a  substantial  favor 
accompanied  the  honor. 

To    Wiiham        \ye  have  hacj  so  manv  alarms  of  changes, 

Franklin,  da-  '  °     ' 

ted  London,  9  which  did  not  take  place,  that  just  when  I  wrote 
January,  1768.    ^  wag  gjiQygjjf  the  ministry  would  stand  their 

ground.  However,  immediately  after,  the  talk  was  re- 
newed, and  it  soon  appeared  that  the  Sunday  changes  were 
actually  settled.  Mr.  Conway  resigns  and  Lord  Weymouth 
takes  his  place.  Lord  Gower  is  made  President  of  the 
Council  in  the  room  of  Lord  Northington.  Lord  Shel- 
burne  is  stripped  of  the  American  business,  which  is  given 
to  Lord  Hillsborough  as  secretary  of  state  for  America,  a 
new  distinct  department.  Lord  Sandwich,  it  is  said,  comes 
into  the  postoffice  in  his  place.  Several  of  the  Bedford 
party  are  now  to  come  in. 

How  these  changes  may  affect  us,  a  little  time  will  show. 
Little  at  present  is  thought  of  but  elections,  which  gives 

me  hopes  that  nothing  will  be  done  against  America  this 

z* 


556  BOSTON  RESOLUTIONS.  [Mr.  62 

session,  though  the  Boston  Gazette  had  occasioned  some 
heats,  and  the  Boston  Resolutions  a  prodigious  clamor.  I 
have  endeavoured  to  palliate  matters  for  them  as  well  as  I 
can.  I  send  you  my  manuscript  of  one  paper,  though  I 
think  you  take  the  Chronicle.  The  editor  of  that  paper,  one 
Jones,  seems  a  Grenvillian,  or  is  very  cautious,  as  you  will 
see  by  his  corrections  and  omissions.  He  has  drawn  the 
teeth  and  pared  the  nails  of  my  paper,  so  that  it  can  neither 
scratch  nor  bite.  It  seems  only  to  paw  and  mumble.  1 
send  you  also  two  other  late  pieces  of  mine.  There  is 
another  which  I  cannot  find. 

I  am  told  there  has  been  a  talk  of  getting  me  appointed 
under-secretary  to  Lord  Hillsborough;  but  with  little  like 
lihood,  as  it  is  a  settled  point  here,  that  I  am  too  much  ot 
an  American.     I  am  in  very  good  health,  thanks  to  God. 

To  Joseph  I  wrote  to  you  by  way  of  Boston,  and  have 
ted  Lcmdon^g  ^^e  to  add,  except  to  acquaint  you  that  some 
January,  1768.  changes  have  taken  place  since  my  last,  which 
have  not  the  most  promising  aspect  for  America,  several  of 
the  Bedford  party  being  come  into  employment  again ;  a 
party  that  has  distinguished  itself  by  exclaiming  against  us 
on  all  late  occasions.  Mr.  Conway,  one  of  our  friends, 
has  resigned,  and  Lord  Weymouth  takes  his  place.  Lord 
Shelburne,  another  friend,  is  stripped  of  the  American  part 
of  the  business  of  his  office,  which  now  makes  a  distinct 
department,  in  which  Lord  Hillsborough  is  placed.  I  do 
not  think  this  nobleman  in  general  an  enemy  to  America ; 
but,  in  the  affair  of  paper  money,  he  was  last  winter  strongly 
against  us. 

I  did  hope  I  had  removed  some  of  his  prejudices  on  that 
head,  but  am  not  certain.     We  have,  however,  increased 


Mr.  62.]  FAMILY  MATTERS.  557 

the  cry  for  it  here,  and  I  believe  shall  attempt  to  obtain  the 
repeal  of  the  act,  though  the  Boston  Gazette  and  their 
resolutions  about  manufactures  have  hurt  us  much,  having 
occasioned  an  immense  clamor  here.  I  have  endeavoured 
to  palliate  matters  for  them  as  well  as  I  can,  and  hope  with 
some  success.  For  having,  in  a  large  company  in  which 
were  some  members  of  Parliament,  given  satisfaction  to  all, 
by  what  I  alleged  in  explanation  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Americans,  and  to  show  that  they  were  not  quite  so  unrea- 
sonable as  they  appeared  to  be,  I  was  advised  by  several 
present  to  make  my  sentiments  public,  not  only  for  the  sake 
of  America,  but  as  it  would  be  some  ease  to  our  friends 
here,  who  are  triumphed  over  a  good  deal  by  our  adversaries 
on  the  occasion.  I  have  accordingly  done  it  in  the  enclosed 
paper. 

To  his  wife,  I  received  your  kind  letter  by  Captain  Story, 
don^  Feb"  °*"  November  19th,  and  a  subsequent  one  by 
1768.  Captain  Falconer  without   date.     I    have   re- 

ceived also  the  Indian  and  buckwheat  meal,  that  they 
brought  from  you,  with  the  apples,  cranberries,  and  nuts,  for 
all  which  I  thank  you.  They  all  prove  good,  and  the 
apples  were  particularly  welcome  to  me  and  my  friends,  as 
there  happens  to  be  scarce  any  of  any  kind  in  England  this 
year.  We  are  much  obliged  to  the  captains,  who  are  so 
good  as  to  bring  these  things  for  us,  without  charging  any 
thing  for  their  trouble. 

I  am  much  concerned  for  my  dear  sister's  loss  of  her 
daughter.  It  was  kind  in  you  to  write  a  letter  of  condo- 
lence. I  have  also  written  to  her  on  the  occasion.  I  am 
not  determined  about  bringing  Sally  over  with  me,  but  am 
obliged  to  you  for  the  kind  manner  in  which  you  speak  of  it, 


5^3  LEGAL    TENDER.  [/Et.  62. 

and  possibly  I  may  conclude  to  do  it.*  I  am  sorry  you 
had  so  much  trouble  with  that  Nelson.  By  what  is  now 
said  of  her  here,  she  did  not  deserve  the  notice  you  took  of 
her,  or  that  any  credit  should  be  given  to  her  stories.  I 
am  afraid  she  has  made  mischief  in  my  family  by  her  false- 
hoods. I  think  your  advice  good,  not  to  help  any  one  to 
servants.  I  shall  never  be  concerned  in  such  business  again  ; 
I  never  was  lucky  in  it. 

P.  S.     I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  a  certain  very  great  lady, 
the  best  woman   in    England,  was   graciously  pleased   to 
accept  some  of  your  nuts,  and  to  say  they  were  excellent 
This  is  to  yourself  only,  f 

To  Joseph  In  mine  of  January  9th,  I  wrote  to  you  thai 
ted  London.  *  believed,  notwithstanding  the  clamor  against 
17  Feb.,  1768.  America  had  been  greatly  increased  by  the 
Boston  proceedings,  we  should  attempt  this  session  to 
obtain  the  repeal  of  the  restraining  act  relating  to  paper 
money.  The  change  of  the  administration,  with  regard  to 
American  affairs,  which  was  agreed  on  some  time  before  the 
new  secretary  kissed  hands  and  entered  upon  business,  made 
it  impossible  to  go  forward  with  that  affair,  as  the  minister 
quitting  that  department  would  not,  and  his  successor  could 
not,  engage  in  it ;  but  now  our  friends  the  merchants  have 


*  This  was  Sally  Franklin,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Franklin,  a  remote 
family  connexion.  As  this  Thomas  Franklin  was  in  narrow  circumstances, 
Dr.  Franklin  took  the  charge  of  his  daughter  for  several  years.  She  married 
in  England,  and  did  not  visit  America. — Ed. 

f  The  following  note  explains  this  postscript : 

"  Dr.  Franklin  presents  his  respectful  compliments  to  Lord  Bathurst,  with 
some  American  nuts ;  and  to  Lady  Bathurst  with  some  American  apples ; 
which  he  prays  they  will  accept  as  a  tribute  from  that  country,  small  indeed. 
but  voluntary." — Ed. 


Mt.  62.]  LORD  HILLSBOROUGH.  559 

been  moving  in  it,  and  some  of  them  have  conceived  hopes, 
from  the  manner  in  which  Lord  Hillsborough  attended  to 
their  representations.  It  had  been  previously  concluded 
among  us,  that,  if  the  repeal  was  to  be  obtained  at  all,  it 
must  be  proposed  in  the  light  of  a  favor  to  the  merchants 
of  this  country,  and  asked  for  by  them,  not  by  the  agents 
as  a  favor  to  America.  But,  as  my  Lord  had,  at  sundry 
times  before  he  came  into  his  present  station,  discoursed 
with  me  on  the  subject,  and  got  from  me  a  copy  of  my 
answer  to  his  report,  when  at  the  head  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  which  some  time  since  he  thanked  me  for,  and  said 
he  would  read  again  and  consider  carefully,  I  waited  upon 
him  this  morning,  partly  with  intent  to  learn  if  he  had 
changed  his  sentiments. 

We  entered  into  the  subject,  and  had  a  long  conversation 
upon  it,  in  which  all  the  arguments  he  used,  against  the 
legal  tender  of  paper  money,  were  intended  to  demonstrate, 
that  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  themselves  to  have 
no  such  money  current  among  them ;  and  it  was  strongly 
his  opinion,  that,  after  the  experience  of  being  without  it 
a  few  years,  we  should  all  be  convinced  of  this  truth,  as  he 
said  the  New  England  colonies  now  were;  they  having 
lately,  on  the  rumor  of  an  intended  application  for  taking 
off  the  restraint,  petitioned  here,  that  it  might  be  continued 
as  to  them.  However,  his  Lordship  was  pleased  to  say, 
that,  if  such  application  was  made  for  the  three  colonies  of 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  as  I  proposed, 
it  should  have  fair  play,  he  would  himself  give  it  no  sort  of 
opposition  ;  but  he  was  sure  it  would  meet  with  a  great 
deal,  and  he  thought  it  could  not  succeed.  He  was  pleased 
to  make  me  compliments  upon  my  paper,  assuring  me  he 
had  read  it  with  a  great  deal  of  attention,  that  I  had  said 
50 


560  LORD   HILLSBOROUGH.  [JEt.  6x 

much  more  in  favor  of  such  a  currency  than  he  thought 
could  be  said,  and  all  he  believed  that  the  subject  would 
admit  of;  but  that  it  had  not  on  the  whole  changed  his 
opinion,  any  further  than  to  induce  him  to  leave  the  matter 
now  to  the  judgment  of  others,  and  let  it  take  its  course, 
without  opposing  it  as  last  year  he  had  determined  to  have 
done. 

I  go  into  the  city  to-morrow,  to  confer  with  the  mer- 
chants again  upon  it ;  that,  if  they  see  any  hopes,  we  may 
at  least  try  the  event.  But  I  own  my  expectations  are  now 
very  slender,  knowing  as  I  do,  that  nothing  is  to  be  done 
in  Parliament,  that  is  not  a  measure  adopted  by  ministry 
and  supported  by  their  strength,  much  less  any  thing  they 
are  averse  to  or  indifferent  about. 

I  took  the  opportunity  of  discoursing  with  his  Lordship 
concerning  our  particular  affair  of  the  change  of  govern- 
ment, gave  him  a  detail  of  all  proceedings  hitherto,  the 
delays  it  had  met  with,  and  its  present  situation.  He  was 
pleased  to  say,  he  would  inquire  into  the  matter,  and  would 
talk  with  me  further  upon  it.  He  expressed  great  satisfac- 
tion in  the  good  disposition,  that,  he  said,  appeared  now 
to  be  general  in  America,  with  regard  to  government  here, 
according  to  the  latest  advices ;  and  informed  me,  that  he 
had  by  his  Majesty's  order  wrote  the  most  healing  letters 
to  the  several  governors,  which,  if  shown  to  the  Assemblies, 
as  he  supposed  they  would  be,  could  not  but  confirm  that 
good  disposition.  As  to  the  permission  we  want  to  bring 
wine,  fruit,  and  oil  directly  from  Spain  and  Portugal,  and 
to  carry  iron  direct  to  foreign  markets,  it  is  agreed  on  all 
hands  that  this  is  an  unfavorable  time  to  move  in  those 
matters;  George  Grenville  and  those  in  the  opposition,  on 
every  hint  of  the  kind,  making  a  great  noise  about  the  Act 


/Et.  62.]  PARLIAMENTARY  BRIBERY.  e(Jj 

of  Navigation,  that  palladium  of  England,  as  they  call  it, 
to  be  given  up  to  rebellious  America,  &c.  &c,  so  that  the 
ministry  would  not  venture  to  propose  it,  if  they  approved. 
I  am  to  wait  on  the  secretary  again  next  Wednesday,  and 
shall  write  you  further  what  passes,  that  is  material. 

The  Parliament  have  of  late  been  acting  an  egregious 
farce,  calling  before  them  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of  Ox- 
ford, for  proposing  a  sum  to  be  paid  by  their  old  members 
on  being  rechosen  at  the  next  election  ;  and  sundry  printers 
and  brokers,  for  advertising  and  dealing  in  boroughs,  &c. 
The  Oxford  people  were  sent  to  Newgate,  and  discharged, 
after  some  days,  on  humble  petition,  and  receiving  the 
Speaker's  reprimand  upon  their  knees.  The  House  could 
scarcely  keep  countenances,  knowing  as  they  all  do,  that 
the  practice  is  general.  People  say,  they  mean  nothing 
more  than  to  beat  down  the  price  by  a  little  discouragement 
of  borough  jobbing,  now  that  their  own  elections  are  all 
coming  on.  The  price  indeed  is  grown  exorbitant,  no  less 
than  four  thousand  pounds  for  a  member. 

Mr.  Beckford  has  brought  in  a  bill  for  preventing  bribery 
and  corruption  in  elections,  wherein  was  a  clause  to  oblige 
every  member  to  swear,  on  his  admission  into  the  House, 
that  he  had  not  directly  or  indirectly  given  any  bribe  to 
any  elector ;  but  this  was  so  universally  exclaimed  against,  as 
answering  no  end  but  perjuring  the  members,  that  he  has 
been  obliged  to  withdraw  that  clause.  It  was  indeed  a  cruel 
contrivance  of  his,  worse  than  the  gunpowder  plot ;  for 
that  was  only  to  blow  the  Parliament  up  to  heaven,  this  to 

sink  them  all  down  to  .      Mr.  Thurlow  opposed  his 

bill  by  a  long  speech.  Beckford,  in  reply,  gave  a  dry  hit 
to  the  House,  that  is  repeated  everywhere.  "The  honor- 
able gentleman,"  says  he,  "in  his  learned  discourse,  gave 


562  SECRETARY  CONWAY  [JEt.  62. 

us  first  one  definition  of  corruption,  then  he  gave  us  another 
definition  of  corruption,  and  I  think  he  was  about  to  give 
us  a  third.  Pray  does  that  gentleman  imagine  there  is  any 
member  of  this  House  that  does  not  know  what  corruption 
is?"  which  occasioned  only  a  roar  of  laughter,  for  they 
are  so  hardened  in  the  practice,  that  they  are  very  little 
ashamed  of  it.     This  between  ourselves. 

To  Thomas  The  story  you  mention  of  Secretary  Con- 
ted  London  "  way's  wondering  what  I  could  be  doing  in 
ao  Feb.,  1768.  England,  and  that  he  had  not  seen  me  for  a 
considerable  time,  savours  strongly  of  the  channel  through 
which  it  came,  and  deserves  no  notice.  But,  since  his  name 
is  mentioned,  it  gives  me  occasion  to  relate  what  passed 
between  us  the  last  time  I  had  the  honor  of  conversing  with 
him.  It  was  at  court,  when  the  late  changes  were  first 
rumored,  and  it  was  reported  he  was  to  resign  the  secre- 
tary's office.  Talking  of  America,  I  said  I  was  sorry  to 
find,  that  our  friends  were  one  after  another  quitting  the 
administration,  that  I  was  apprehensive  of  the  consequences, 
and  hoped  what  I  heard  of  his  going  out  was  not  true.  He 
said  it  was  really  trie,  the  employment  had  not  been  of  his 
choice,  he  had  never  any  taste  for  it,  but  had  submitted  to 
engage  in  it  for  a  time,  at  the  instance  of  his  friends,  and 
he  believed  his  removal  could  not  be  attended  with  any  ill 
consequences  to  America ;  that  he  was  a  sincere  wellwisher 
to  the  prosperity  of  that  country  as  well  as  this,  and  hoped 
the  imprudences  of  either  side  would  never  be  carried  to 
such  a  height,  as  to  create  a  breach  of  the  union,  so  essen- 
tially necessary  to  the  welfare  of  both ;  that,  as  long  as  his 
Majesty  continued  to  honor  him  with  a  share  in  his  coun- 
sels, America  should  always  find  in  him  a  friend,  &c.     Thih 


Mt.  62.]    DANGERS  FROM  USE   OF  LEAD   PIPE.      563 

I  write,  as  it  was  agreeable  to  me  to  hear,  and  I  suppose  will 
be  so  to  you  to  read.  For  his  character  has  more  in  it  of 
the  frank  honesty  of  the  soldier,  than  of  the  plausible  insin- 
cerity of  the  courtier ;  and  therefore  what  he  says  is  more 
to  be  depended  on. 

The  Proprietor's  dislike  to  my  continuing  in  England,  to 
be  sure,  is  very  natural ;  as  well  as  to  the  repeated  choice 
of  Assembly  men,  not  his  friends ;  and  probably  he  would, 
as  they  so  little  answer  his  purposes,  wish  to  see  elections  as 
well  as  agencies  abolished.  They  make  him  very  unhappy, 
but  it  cannot  be  helped. 

To  Mr.  Live-  I  received  your  kind  letter  of  November 
London  *  20  J8th,  with  a  very  welcome  present  of  another 
Feb.,  1768.  dozen  of  your  wine.  The  former  had  been 
found  excellent  by  many  good  judges ;  my  wine  merchant 
in  particular  was  very  desirous  of  knowing  what  quantity  of 
it  might  be  had,  and  at  what  price,  to  which  I  could  give 
him  no  satisfaction.  I  only  said,  that  the  grapes,  being 
uncultivated,  were  not  very  juicy  ;  I  apprehended,  so  many 
of  them  must  be  required,  and  so  much  labor  in  gathering 
and  pressing  them,  to  produce  a  little  wine,  that  the  price 
could  not  be  very  low.  I  shall  apply  this  parcel  as  I  did 
the  last,  towards  warming  the  hearts  of  the  friends  of  our 
country,  and  wellwishers  to  the  change  of  its  government. 

To  Cadwaiia-  I  wrote  you  a  few  lines  by  Capt.  Falconer 
dated     Lo^'    anc* sent  you  ^r-  Watson's  new  piece  of  Experi- 

don,  20  Feb.,  ments  in  inoculation,  which  I  hope  will  be 
i758. 

agreeable  to  you. 

In  yours  of  Nov.  20th  you  mention  the  lead  in  the  worms 

of  stills  as  a  probable  cause  of  the  dry  bellyache  among 

50* 


564  MANUFACTURES  DISCOURAGED.  [JEt.  62. 

punch  drinkers  in  our  West  Indies.  I  had  before  acquainted 
Dr.  Baker  with  a  fact  of  that  kind,  the  general  mischief 
done  by  the  use  of  lead  worms,  when  rum-distilling  was 
first  practised  in  New  England,  which  occasioned  a  severe 
law  there  against  them ;  and  he  has  mentioned  it  in  the 
2d  part  of  the  piece  not  yet  published.  I  have  long  been 
of  opinion,  that  this  distemper  proceeds  always  from  a 
metallic  cause  only,  observing  that  it  affects,  among  trades- 
men those  that  use  lead,  however  different  their  trades,  as 
glaciers,  letter  founders,  plumbers,  potters,  white  lead 
makers,  and  painters ;  (from  the  latter,  it  has  been  conjec- 
tured, it  took  its  name  Colica  Pictonum,  by  the  mistake  of  a 
letter  and  not  from  its  being  the  disease  of  Picton  ;)  and 
although  the  worms  of  stills  ought  to  be  of  pure  tin,  they 
are  often  made  of  pewter,  which  has  a  mixture  in  it  of  lead. 
The  Boston  people  pretending  to  interfere  with  the  manu- 
factures of  this  country,  makes  a  great  clamor  here  against 
America  in  general.  I  have  endeavored  therefore  to  palli- 
ate matters  a  little  in  several  public  papers.  It  would  as 
you  justly  observe  give  less  umbrage  if  we  meddled  only 
with  such  manufactures  as  England  does  not  attend  to. 
That  of  linen  might  be  carried  on  more  or  less  in  every 
family,  (perhaps  it  can  only  do  in  a  family  way,)  and  silk 
I  think  in  most  of  the  colonies.  But  there  are  many  manu- 
factures that  we  cannot  carry  on  to  advantage,  though  we 
were  at  entire  liberty.  And  after  all  this  country  is  fond 
of  manufactures  beyond  their  real  value  ;  for  the  true  source 
of  riches  is  husbandry.  Agriculture  is  truly  productive  of 
new  wealth;  manufactures  only  change  forms;  and  what- 
ever value  they  give  to  the  material  they  work  upon,  they 
in  the  mean  time  consume  an  equal  value  of  provisions,  &c. 
So  that  riches  are  not  increased  by  manufacturing  ;  the  only 


M.T.  62.]  HILLSBOROUGH'S  PLANS.  505 

advantage  is  that  provisions  in  the  shape  of  manufactures 
are  more  easily  carried  for  sale  in  foreign  markets.  And 
where  the  provisions  cannot  be  easily  carried  to  market,  it 
is  well  so  to  transform  them  for  our  own  use  as  well  as  for 
foreign  sale.  In  families  also  where  the  children  and  ser- 
vants of  farmers  have  some  spare  time,  it  is  well  to  employ 
it  in  making  something  ;  and  in  spinning  or  knitting,  &c, 
to  gather  up  fragments  (of  time)  that  nothing  may  be  lost ; 
for  these  fragments,  though  small  in  themselves,  amount  to 
something  great  in  the  year  and  the  family  must  eat  whether 
they  work  or  are  idle. 

But  this  nation  seems  to  have  increased  the  number  of  its 
manufactures  beyond  reasonable  bounds  (for  there  are 
bounds  to  every  thing)  whereby  provisions  are  now  risen  to  an 
exorbitant  price  by  the  demand  for  supplying  home  mouths  : 
so  that  there  may  be  an  importation  from  foreign  countries ; 
but  the  expense  of  bringing  provisions  from  abroad  to  feed 
manufacturers  here  will  so  enhance  the  price  of  the  manu- 
factures that  they  may  be  made  cheaper  where  the  provi- 
sions grow  and  the  mouths  will  go  to  the  meat.* 

To  William  The  purpose  of  settling  the  new  colonies 
ted*" London"  seems  at  present  to  be  dropped,  the  change  of 
13  March,  American  administration  not  appearing  favor- 
able to  it.  There  seems  rather  to  be  an  incli- 
nation to  abandon  the  posts  in  the  back  country,  as  more 
expensive  than  useful;  but  counsels  are  so  continually 
fluctuating  here,  that  nothing  can  be  depended  on.     The 

•  In  the  decade  in  which  England  drove  her  American  Colonies  to  re- 
bellion she  first  began  to  experience  the  necessity  of  importing  grain. 
Her  needs  have  increased  with  her  population,  until  now  she  imports  more 
than  half  her  breadstuffs,  and  is  more  dependent  upon  America  than  upon 
all  other  countries  in  the  world  together  for  the  food  she  consumes.  Brit- 
ish mouths,  too,  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  have  been  going  in  con- 
stantly increasing  proportions  to  the  meat. — Ed. 


tj  66  THE  "FARMER'S  LETTERS:'  [Mr.  62. 

new  secretary,  my  Lord  Hillsborough,  is,  I  find,  of  opinion, 
that  the  troops  should  be  placed,  the  chief  part  of  them,  in 
Canada  and  Florida,  only  three  battalion's  to  be  quartered 
in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania;  and  that 
Forts  Pitt,  Oswego,  Niagara,  &c,  should  be  left  to  the 
colonies  to  garrison  and  keep  up,  if  they  think  it  necessary, 
for  the  protection  of  their  trade.  Probably  his  opinion  may 
be  followed,  if  the  new  changes  do  not  produce  other  ideas. 

As  to  my  own  sentiments,  I  am  weary  of  suggesting  them 
to  so  many  different  inattentive  heads,  though  I  must  con- 
tinue to  do  it  while  I  stay  among  them.  The  letters  from 
Sir  William  Johnson,  relating  to  the  boundary,  were  at 
last  found,  and  orders  were  sent  over  about  Christmas  for 
completing  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  it.  My  Lord 
Hillsborough  has  promised  me  to  send  duplicates  by  this 
packet,  and  urge  the  speedy  execution,  as  we  represented 
to  him  the  danger,  that  these  dissatisfactions  of  the  Indians 
might  produce  a  war.  But  I  can  tell  you,  there  are  many 
here,  to  whom  the  news  of  such  a  war  would  give  pleasure ; 
who  speak  of  it  as  a  thing  to  be  wished ;  partly  as  a  chas- 
tisement to  the  colonies,  and  partly  to  make  them  feel  the 
want  of  protection  from  this  country,  and  pray  for  it.  For 
it  is  imagined,  that  we  could  not  possibly  defend  ourselves 
against  the  Indians  without  such  assistance;  so  little  is  the 
state  of  America  understood  here. 

My  Lord  Hillsborough  mentioned  the  "Farmer's  Let- 
ters" to  me,  said  he  had  read  them,  that  they  were  well 
written,  and  he  believed  he  could  guess  who  was  the  author, 
looking  in  my  face  at  the  same  time,  as  if  he  thought  it 
was  me.  He  censured  the  doctrines  as  extremely  wild.  I 
have  read  them  as  far  as  No.  8.  I  know  not  if  any 
more  have  been  published.     I  should  have  thought  they 


At.  62.]  THE   "FARMER'S  LETTERS."  567 

had  been  written  by  Mr.  Delancey,  not  having  heard  any 
mention  of  the  others  you  point  out  as  joint  authors.*  I 
am  not  yet  master  of  the  idea  these  and  the  New  England 
writers  have  of  the  relation  between  Britain  and  her  colo- 
nies. I  know  not  what  the  Boston  people  mean  by  the 
"subordination"  they  acknowledge  in  their  Assembly  to 
Parliament,  while  they  deny  its  power  to  make  laws  for 
them,  nor  what  bounds  the  Farmer  sets  to  the  power  he 
acknowledges  in  Parliament  to  "regulate  the  trade  of  the 
colonies,"  it  being  difficult  to  draw  lines  between  duties  for 
regulation  and  those  for  revenue;  and,  if  the  Parliament  is 
to  be  the  judge,  it  seems  to  me  that  establishing  such  prin- 
ciples of  distinction  will  amount  to  little. 

The  more  I  have  thought  and  read  on  the  subject,  the 
more  I  find  myself  confirmed  in  opinion,  that  no  middle 
doctrine  can  be  well  maintained,  I  mean  not  clearly  with 
intelligible  arguments.  Something  might  be  made  of  either 
of  the  extremes;  that  Parliament  has  a  power  to  make  all 
laws  for  us,  or  that  it  has  a  power  to  make  no  laws  for  us; 
and  I  think  the  arguments  for  the  latter  more  numerous  and 
weighty,  than  those  for  the  former.  Supposing  that  doctrine 
established,  the  colonies  would  then  be  so  many  separate 
states,  only  subject  to  the  same  king,  as  England  and  Scot- 
land were  before  the  union.  And  then  the  question  would 
be,  whether  a  union  like  that  with  Scotland  would  or  would 
not  be  advantageous  to  the  whole.  I  should  have  no  doubt 
of  the  affirmative,  being  fully  persuaded  that  it  would  be 
best  for  the  whole,  and  that  though  particular  parts  might 


♦  The  "Letters  from  a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania"  were  written  by  John 
Dickenson,  and  published  the  following  yeai  in  England,  with  a  preface  by 
Dr.  Franklin. — Ed. 


568  THE   "FARMER'S  LETTERS."  [ALt.  62. 

find  particular  disadvantages  in  it,  they  would  find  greater 
advantages  in  the  security  arising  to  every  part  from  the 
increased  strength  of  the  whole.  But  such  union  is  not 
likely  to  take  place,  while  the  nature  of  our  present  relation 
is  so  little  understood  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  and 
sentiments  concerning  it  remain  so  widely  different. 

As  to  the  Farmer's  combating,  as  you  say  they  intend  to 
do,  my  opinion,  that  the  Parliament  might  lay  duties  though 
not  impose  internal  taxes,  I  shall  not  give  myself  the 
trouble  to  defend  it.  Only  to  you,  I  may  say,  that  not 
only  the  Parliament  of  Britain,  but  every  state  in  Europe, 
claims  and  exercises  a  right  of  laying  duties  on  the  exporta- 
tion of  its  own  commodities  to  foreign  countries.  A  duty 
is  paid  here  on  coals  exported  to  Holland,  and  yet  England 
has  no  right  to  lay  an  internal  tax  on  Holland.  All  goods 
brought  out  of  France  to  England,  or  any  other  country, 
are  charged  with  a  small  duty  in  France,  which  the  con- 
sumers pay,  and  yet  France  has  no  right  to  tax  other  coun- 
tries. And  in  my  opinion  the  grievance  is  not  that  Britain 
puts  duties  upon  her  own  manufactures  exported  to  us,  but 
that  she  forbids  us  to  buy  the  like  manufactures  from  any 
other  country.  This  she  does,  however,  in  virtue  of  her 
allowed  right  to  regulate  the  commerce  of  the  whole  empire, 
allowed  I  mean  by  the  Farmer,  though  I  think  whoever 
would  dispute  that  right  might  stand  upon  firmer  ground, 
and  make  much  more  of  the  argument ;  but  my  reasons  are 
too  many  and  too  long  for  a  letter. 

Mr.  Grenville  complained  in  the  House,  that  the  gov- 
ernors of  New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire,  East  and  West 
Florida,  had  none  of  them  obeyed  the  orders  sent  them,  to 
give  an  account  of  the  manufactures  carried  on  in  theii 
respective  provinces.     Upon  hearing  this,  I  went  after  the 


<Et.  62.]  JEALOUSY  OF  THE   COLONIES.  569 

House  was  up,  and  got  a  sight  of  the  reports  made  by  the 
other  governors.  They  are  all  much  in  the  same  strain, 
that  there  are  no  manufactures  of  any  consequence;  in 
Massachusetts  a  little  coarse  woollen  only,  made  in  families 
for  their  own  wear;  glass  and  linen  have  been  tried  and 
failed.  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  New  York  much  the 
same.  Pennsylvania  has  tried  a  linen  manufactory,  but  it  is 
dropped,  it  being  imported  cheaper;  there  is  a  glasshouse 
in  Lancaster  county,  but  it  makes  only  a  little  coarse  ware 
for  the  country  neighbours.  Maryland  is  clothed  all  with 
English  manufactures.  Virginia  the  same,  except  that  in 
their  families  they  spin  a  little  cotton  of  their  own  growing. 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  none.  All  speak  of  the  dear- 
ness  of  labor,  that  makes  manufactures  impracticable. 
Only  the  governor  of  North  Carolina  parades  with  a  large 
manufacture  in  his  country,  that  may  be  useful  to  Britain, 
of  pine  boards;  they  having  fifty  sawmills  on  one  river. 

These  accounts  are  very  satisfactory  here,  and  induce  the 
Parliament  to  despise  and  take  no  notice  of  the  Boston 
resolutions.  I  wish  you  would  send  your  account  before 
the  meeting  of  next  Parliament.  You  have  only  to  report 
a  glasshouse  for  coarse  window  glass  and  bottles,  and  some 
domestic  manufactures  of  linen  and  woollen  for  family  use, 
that  do  not  half  clothe  the  inhabitants,  all  the  finer  goods 
coming  from  England  and  the  like.  I  believe  you  will  be 
puzzled  to  find  any  other,  though  I  see  great  puffs  in  the 
papers. 

The  Parliament  is  up,  and  the  nation  in  a  ferment  with 
the  new  elections.  Great  complaints  are  made  that  the 
natural  interests  of  country  gentlemen  in  their  neighbour- 
ing boroughs  is  overborne  by  the  moneyed  interests  of  the 
new  people,  who  have  got  sudden  fortunes  in  the  Indies,  01 


570  VENALITY  OF  PARLIAMENT.  [JEt.  62. 

as  contractors.  Four  thousand  pounds  is  now  the  market 
price  for  a  borough.  In  short,  this  whole  venal  nation  is 
now  at  market,  will  be  sold  for  about  two  millions,  and 
might  be  bought  out  of  the  hands  of  the  present  bidders 
(if  he  would  offer  half  a  million  more)  by  the  very  Devil 
himself. 

I  shall  wait  on  Lord  Hillsborough  again  next  Wednesday, 
on  behalf  of  the  sufferers  by  Indian  and  French  depreda- 
tions, to  have  an  allowance  of  lands  out  of  any  new  grant 
made  by  the  Indians,  so  long  solicited,  and  perhaps  still  tc 
be  solicited,  in  vain. 

Petition  of  the  ^0   THE    WORSHIPFUL   ISAAC    BlCKERSTAFF, 

letter  Z.    1768.     ESQUIRE,  CENSOR-GENERAL. 

The  petition  of  the  letter  Z,  commonly  called  Ezzard, 
Zed,  or  Izard,  most  humbly  showeth : 

That  your  petitioner  is  of  as  high  extraction,  and  has  as 
good  an  estate  as  any  other  letter  of  the  alphabet ;  that 
there  is  therefore  no  reason  why  he  should  be  treated  as 
he  is,  with  disrespect  and  indignity ;  that  he  is  not  only 
actually  placed  at  the  tail  of  the  alphabet,  when  he  had  as 
much  right  as  any  other  to  be  at  the  head  ;  but  it  is  by  the 
injustice  of  his  enemies  totally  excluded  from  the  word 
WISE,  and  his  place  injuriously  filled  by  a  little  hissing, 
crooked,  serpentine,  venomous  letter,  called  S,  when  it 
must  be  evident  to  your  worship,  and  to  all  the  world,  that 
W,  I,  S,  E,  do  not  spell  Wize,  but  Wise.  Your  petitioner, 
therefore,  prays  that  the  alphabet  may,  by  your  censorial 
authority,  be  reversed ;  and  that  in  consideration  of  his 
long  suffering  and  patience  he  may  be  placed  at  the  head 
of  it ;  that  S  may  be  turned  out  of  the  word  Wise,  and  the 
petitioner  employed  instead  of  him. 


/Et.  62.]         PETITION  OF  THE   LETTER   Z.  $yi 

And  your  petitioner,  as  in  duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray 
&c,  &c.  Mr.  Bickerstaff,  having  examined  the  allegations 
of  the  above  petition,  judges  and  determines,  that  Z  be 
admonished  to  be  content  with  his  station,  forbear  reflec- 
tions upon  his  brother  letters,  and  remember  his  own  small 
usefulness,  and  the  little  occasion  there  is  for  him  in  the 
Republic  of  Letters,  since  S,  whom  he  so  despises,  can  so 
well  serve  instead  of  him. 


SI  3A 


CHAPTER    VII. 

POOR   RICHARDS  ALMANAC. 

The  fame  of  this  Almanac,  which  appeared  under  the 
pseud,  inyme  of  Richard  Saunders,  and  the  first  number  of 
which  was  issued  when  Franklin  was  only  twenty-six  years 
of  age,  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  modern  literature.  Ex- 
clusive of  the  monthly  calendar,  its  contents  have  prob- 
ably had  a  wider  circulation,  had  more  readers,  and  been 
clothed  in  more  languages,  than  any  other  publication  in 
the  English  or,  indeed,  any  other  tongue.  It  has  also  the 
unique  distinction  of  being  the  only  almanac  ever  pub- 
lished that  owed  its  popularity  entirely  to  its  literary 
merit.  Yet  all  that  Franklin  himself  had  to  say  of  it  in 
his  autobiography,  when  writing  fifty-five  years  after  the 
first  number  appeared,  will  be  found  in  the  following 
modest  paragraph : 

"In  1732  I  first  publish'd  my  Almanack,  under  the 
name  of  Richard  Saunders  ;  it  was  continu'd  by  me  about 
twenty-five  years,  commonly  call'd  Poor  Richard's  Al- 
manack. I  endeavor'd  to  make  it  both  entertaining  and 
useful,  and  it  accordingly  came  to  be  in  such  demand,  that 
I  reap'd  considerable  profit  from  it,  vending  annually  near 
ten  thousand.  And  observing  that  it  was  generally  read, 
scarce  any  neighborhood  in  the  province  being  without  it, 
I  consider' d  it  as  a  proper  vehicle  for  conveying  instruction 
among  the  common  people,  who  bought  scarcely  any  other 
572 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


573 


books;  I  there  rore  filled  ail  the  little  spaces  that  occurred 
between  the  remarkable  days  in  the  calendar  with  proverbial 
sentences,  chiefly  such  as  inculcated  industry  and  frugality, 
as  the  means  of  procuring  wealth,  and  thereby  securing 
virtue ;  it  being  more  difficult  for  a  man  in  want,  to  act 
always  honestly,  as,  to  use  here  one  of  these  proverbs,  it  is 
hard  for  an  empty  sack  to  stand  upright. 

"These  proverbs,  which  contain  the  wisdom  of  many 
ages  and  nations,  I  assembled  and  formed  into  a  connected 
discourse  prefix'd  to  the  Almanack  of  1757,  as  the  harangue 
of  a  wise  old  man  to  the  people  attending  an  auction.  The 
bringing  all  these  scattered  counsels  thus  into  a  focus, 
enabled  them  to  make  greater  impression.  The  piece, 
being  universally  approved,  was  copied  in  all  the  news- 
papers of  the  Continent ;  reprinted  in  Britain  on  a  broad 
side,  to  be  stuck  up  in  houses ;  two  translations  were  made 
of  it  in  French,  and  great  numbers  bought  by  the  clergy 
and  gentry,  to  distribute  gratis  among  their  poor 
parishioners  and  tenants.  In  Pennsylvania,  as  it  dis- 
couraged useless  expense  in  foreign  superfluities,  some 
thought  it  had  its  share  of  influence  in  producing  that 
growing  plenty  of  money  which  was  observable  for  several 
years  after  its  publication." 

Franklin  makes  no  allusion  here  to  the  humorous  device 
by  which  he  insured  the  success  of  his  Almanac  ab  ovo,  and 
disposed  of  the  only  competitor  then  in  the  almanac- 
making  business  in  Pennsylvania,  but  which  in  his  assumed 
character  of  an  astrologer,  under  the  name  of  Richard 
Saunders,  Philomath,  is  thus  recorded  in  his  first  issue  of 
1733: 

"  The  plain  truth  of  the  matter  is,  I  am  excessive  poor, 
and  my  wife,  good  woman,  is,  I  tell  her,  excessive  proud  ; 
she  cannot  bear,  she  says,  to  sit  spinning  in  her  shift  of 


574  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

tow,  while  I  do  nothing  but  gaze  at  the  stars;  and  has 
threatened  more  than  once  to  burn  all  my  books  and  rattling 
traps  (as  she  calls  my  instruments)  if  I  do  not  make  some 
profitable  use  of  them  for  my  family.  The  printer  has 
offered  me  some  considerable  share  of  the  profits,  and  I 
have  thus  begun  to  comply  with  my  dame's  desire. 

"  Indeed  this  motive  would  have  had  force  enough  to 
have  made  me  publish  an  Almanac  many  years  since,  had  it 
not  been  overpowered  by  my  regard  for  my  good  friend 
and  fellow  student,  Mr.  Titan  Leeds,  whose  interest  I  was 
extreamly  unwilling  to  hurt. 

"  But  this  obstacle  (I  am  far  from  speaking  of  it  with 
pleasure)  is  soon  to  be  removed,  since  inexorable  death, 
who  was  never  known  to  respect  merit,  has  already  prepared 
the  mortal  dart ;  the  fatal  sister  has  already  extended  her 
destroying  shears,  and  that  ingenious  man  must  soon  be 
taken  from  us.  He  dies,  by  my  calculation,  made  at  his 
request,  on  Oct.  17,  1733,  3  no->  29  niin.,  p-  M->  a*  the 
very  instant  of  the  d  of  ©  and  §  .  By  his  own  calculation 
he  will  survive  till  the  26th  of  the  same  month.  This  small 
difference  between  us  we  have  disputed  whenever  we  have 
met  these  nine  years  past ;  but  at  length  he  is  inclinable 
to  agree  with  my  judgment ;  which  of  us  is  most  exact,  a 
little  time  will  now  determine.  As,  therefore,  these  prov- 
inces may  not  longer  expect  to  see  any  of  his  performances 
after  this  year,  I  think  myself  free  to  take  up  the  task,  and 
request  a  share  of  public  encouragement,  which  I  am  the 
more  apt  to  hope  for  on  this  account ;  that  the  buyer  of 
my  Almanac  may  consider  himself  not  only  as  purchasing 
an  useful  utensil,  but  as  performing  an  act  of  charity  to  his 
poor  Friend  and  Servant, 

"R.  Saunders." 

Among  nature's  gifts  to  Titan  Leeds,  unfortunately  for 
him,  a  sense  of  humor  was  not  included,  and  in  no  way 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC.  eye 

could  he  more  effectually  have  played  into  his  new  com- 
petitor's hands  than  by  taking  this  bit  of  horse-play  seri- 
ously. But  that  was  exactly  what  he  did.  When  the  time 
rolled  around  for  Leeds  to  issue  his  next  Almanac,  no 
better  way  occurred  to  him  of  dealing  with  Franklin's 
melancholy  prognostications  than  to  protest  soberly  and 
earnestly  against  their  correctness.  In  his  Almanac  for 
1734  Leeds,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  public,  thus 
sets  his  rival  right : 

"Kind  Reader: 

"  Perhaps  it  may  be  expected  that  I  should  say  some- 
thing concerning  an  Almanack  printed  for  the  Year  1733, 
Said  to  be  writ  by  Poor  Richard  or  Richard  Saunders, 
who  for  want  of  other  matter  was  pleased  to  tell  his 
Readers,  that  he  had  calculated  my  Nativity,  and  from 
thence  predicts  my  Death  to  be  the  17th  of  October,  1733, 
at  22  rnin.  past  3  a- Clock  in  the  Afternoon,  and  that  these 
Provinces  may  not  expect  to  see  any  more  of  his  {Titan 
Leeds)  Performances,  and  this  precise  Predicter,  who  pre- 
dicts to  a  Minute,  proposes  to  succeed  me  in  Writing  of 
Almanacks;  but  notwithstanding  his  false  Prediction,  I 
have  by  the  Mercy  of  God  lived  to  write  a  Diary  for  the 
Year  1734,  and  to  publish  the  Folly  and  Ignorance  of  this 
presumptuous  Author.  Nay,  he  adds  another  gross  False- 
hood in  his  said  Almanack,  viz —  That  by  my  own  Calcu- 
lation, I  shall  survive  until  the  26th  of  the  said  Month, 
(October)  which  is  as  untrue  as  the  former,  for  I  do  not 
pretend  to  that  Knowledge,  altho'  he  has  usurpt  the  Know- 
ledge of  the  Almighty  herein,  and  manifested  himself  a 
Fool  and  a  Lyar.  And  by  the  mercy  of  God  I  have  lived 
to  survive  this  conceited  Scribblers  Day  and  Minute 
whereon  he  has  predicted  my  Death ;  and  as  I  have  sup- 
plyed  my  Country  with  Almanacks  for  three  seven  Years 


S76 


POO  A'   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


by  past,  to  general  Satisfaction,  so  perhaps  I  may  live  to 
write  when  his  Performances  are  Dead.  Thus  much  from 
your  annual  Friend,  Titan  Leeds.  October  ig,  i/jj,  J. 
ho.  j j  min.  P.  Af." 

Had  Franklin  himself  had  the  writing  of  Titan  Leeds's 
reply  to  his  jeu  a" esprit,  he  could  have  produced  nothing 
that  would  have  more  perfectly  answered  his  purpose,  or 
perhaps  his  expectations. 

In  his  Almanac  for  1734,  whit  h  appeared  only  a  week 
or  two  after  that  of  his  rival,  he  thus  carries  on  the  joke : 

"  Courteous  Reader  : 

i*  Your  kind  and  charitable  assistance  last  year  in  pur 
chasing  so  large  an  impression  of  my  Almanacks,  has  made 
my  circumstances  much  more  easy  in  the  world,  and  re- 
quires my  grateful  acknowledgment. 

"My  wife  has  been  enabled  to  get  a  pot  of  her  own, 
and  is  no  longer  obliged  to  borrow  one  from  a  neighbour; 
nor  have  we  ever  since  been  without  something  of  our  own 
to  put  in  it.  She  has  also  got  a  pair  of  shoes,  two  new 
shifts,  and  a  new  warm  petticoat ;  and  for  my  part  I  have 
bought  a  second-hand  coat,  so  good  that  I  am  not  now 
ashamed  to  go  to  town  or  be  seen  there.  These  things 
have  rend  r'd  her  temper  so  much  more  pacifick  than  it 
us'd  to  be,  that  I  may  say,  I  have  slept  more  and  more 
quietly  within  this  last  year,  than  in  the  three  foregoing 
yea;s  put  together.  Accept  my  hearty  thanks  therefor,  and 
my  sincere  wishes  for  your  health  and  prosperity. 

"In  the  preface  to  my  last  Almanack,  I  foretold  the 
de  th  of  my  dear  old  friend  and  fellow-student,  the  learned 
and  ingenious  Mr.  Titan  Leeds,  which  was  to  be  the  17th 
of  October,  1733,  3  h  .  29  m.,  P.  M.,  at  the  very  instant 
of  the  d  of  O  and  § .  By  his  own  calculation,  he  was  to 
survive  till  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  and  expire  in  the 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


$77 


time  of  the  eclipse,  near  n  o'clock,  A.  M.  At  which  of 
these  times  he  died,  or  whether  he  be  really  yet  dead,  I 
cannot  at  this  present  writing  positively  assure  my  readers  ; 
for  as  much  as  a  disorder  in  my  own  family  demanded  my 
presence,  and  would  not  permit  me,  as  I  had  intended,  to 
be  with  him  in  his  last  moments,  to  receive  his  last  em- 
brace, to  close  his  eyes,  and  do  the  duty  of  a  friend  in 
performing  the  last  offices  to  the  departed.  Therefore  it  is 
that  I  cannot  positively  affirm  whether  he  be  dead  or  hot; 
for  the  stars  only  show  to  the  skilful  what  will  happen  in 
the  natural  and  universal  chain  of  causes  and  effects;  but 
't  is  well  known,  that  the  events  which  would  otherwise 
certainly  happen,  at  certain  times,  in  the  course  of  nature, 
are  sometimes  set  aside  of  postpon'd,  for  wise  and  good 
reasons,  by  the  immediate  particular  disposition  of  Provi- 
dence; which  particular  dispositions  the  stars  can  by  no 
means  discover  or  foreshow.  There  is,  however,  fand  f"*l 
cannot  speak  it  without  sorrow,)  the  strongest  probability 
that  my  dear  friend  is  no  more  ;  for  there  appears  in  his 
name,  as  I  am  assured,  an  Almanack  for  the  year  i  734,  in 
which  I  am  treated  in  a  very  gross  and  unhandsome 
manner;  in  which  I  am  called  a  false  predicter,  an  igno- 
rant, a  conceited  scribbler,  a  fool,  and  a  lyar.  Mr.  Leeds 
was  too  well  bred  to  use  any  man  so  indecently  and  so 
scurrilously,  and  moreover  h  s  esteem  and  affection  for  me 
was  extraordinary ;  so  that  it  is  to  be  feared  that  pamphlet 
may  be  only  a  contrivance  of  somebody  or  01  her,  who 
hopes,  perhaps,  to  sell  two  or  three  years'  Almanacks  still, 
by  the  sole  force  and  virtue  of  Mr.  Leeds'  name.  But, 
certainly,  to  put  words  into  the  mouth  of  a  gentleman  and 
a  man  of  letters  against  his  friend,  which  the  meanest  and 
most  scandalous  of  the  people  might  be  ashamed  to  utter, 
even  irf  a  drunken  quarrel,  is  an  unpardonable  injury  to 
his  memory,  and  an  imposition  upon  the  publick. 

"  Mr.   Leeds  was  not   only  profoundly  skilful   in    the 


578 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


useful  science  he  profess' d,  but  he  was  a  man  of  exemplary 
sobriety,  a  most  sincere  friend,  and  an  exact  performer  of 
his  word.  These  valuable  qualifications,  with  many  others, 
so  much  endeared  him  to  me,  that  although  it  should  be 
so,  that  contrary  to  all  probability,  contrary  to  my  predic- 
tion and  his  own,  he  might  possibly  be  yet  alive,  yet  my 
loss  of  honour,  as  a  prognosticator,  cannot  afford  me  so 
much  mortification  as  his  life,  health,  and  safety,  would 
give  me  joy  and  satisfaction. 

"  I  am,  courteous  and  kind  reader,  your  poor  friend  and 

servant, 

"R.  Saunders. 

"  October  30,  1733." 

Poor  Leeds  was  still  too  dull  to  see  the  use  which  his 
rival  was  making  of  him,  and  in  his  Almanac  for  1735  thus 
proceeds  seriously  to  rebuke  Franklin  for  the  inaccuracy  of 
his  predictions : 

"  CORTEOUS    AND    KlND    READER: 

"  My  Almanack  being  in  its  usual  Method,  needs  no 
Explanation ;  but  perhaps  it  may  be  expected  by  some  that 
I  shall  say  something  concerning  Poor  Richard,  or  other- 
wise Richard  Saunders 's  Almanack,  which  I  suppose  was 
printed  in  the  Year  1733,  for  the  ensuing  year  1734, 
wherein  he  useth  me  with  such  good  Manners,  I  can 
hardly  find  what  to  say  to  him,  without  it  is  to  advise  him 
not  to  be  too  proud  because  by  his  Praedkting  my  Death, 
and  his  writing  an  Almanack  (I  suppose  at  his  Wifes  Re- 
quest) as  he  himself  says,  she  has  got  a  Pot  of  her  own 
and  not  longer  obliged  to  borrow  one  from  a  neighbour, 
she  has  got  also  two  new  Shifts,  a  pair  of  New  Shoes  and 
a  new  warm  Petticoat ;  and  for  his  own  part  he  had  bought 
a  second-hand  Coat  so  good  that  he  is  not  ashamed  to  go 
to  Town,  or  to  be  seen  there,  (Parturiant  Montes  !)  But 
if  Falshood  and  Inginuity  be  so  rewarded,  What  may  he 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


579 


expect  if  ever  he  be  in  a  capacity  to  publish  that  that  is 
either  Just  or  according  to  Art?  Therefore  I  shall  say 
little  more  about  it  than,  as  a  Friend,  to  advise  he  will 
never  take  upon  him  to  praedict  or  ascribe  any  Persons 
Death,  till  he  has  learned  to  do  it  better  than  he  did 
before. ' ' 

Franklin's  run  on  Titan  Leeds  had  already  effectually 
secured  the  attention  of  the  public, — he  was  now  selling 
his  Almanacs  at  the  rate  of  ten  thousand  a  year, — and  every 
one  was  on  the  alert  to  know  what  new  prank  he  would  play 
upon  his  enfeebled  competitor.  Nor  did  Franklin  fail  to 
turn  their  curiosity  to  good  account.  He  took  the  ground 
that  Leeds  was  really  dead  and  others  were  speculating 
upon  his  reputation  by  continuing  the  publication  under 
his  name. 

In  his  Almanac  for  1735  he  says, — 

"  Courteous  Reader  : 

"This  is  the  third  time  of  my  appearing  in  print, 
hitherto  very  much  to  my  own  satisfaction,  and  I  have 
reason  to  hope,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  publick  also ;  for 
the  publick  is  generous,  and  has  been  very  charitable  and 
good  to  me.  I  should  be  ungrateful  then,  if  I  did  not 
take  every  opportunity  of  expressing  my  gratitude;  for 
ingratum  si  dixeris  omnia  dixcris.  I  therefore  return  the 
publick  my  most  humble  and  hearty  thanks. 

•*  Whatever  may  be  the  musick  of  the  spheres,  how  great 
soever  the  harmony  of  the  stars,  't  is  certain  there  is  no 
harmony  among  the  star-gazers ;  but  they  are  perpetually 
growling  and  snarling  at  one  another  like  strange  curs,  or 
like  some  men  at  their  wives.  I  had  resolved  to  keep  the 
peace  on  my  own  part,  and  affront  none  of  them ;  and  I 
shall  persist  in  that  resolution.  But  having  receiv'd  much 
abuse  from  Titan  Leeds  deceas'd,  (Titan  Leeds  when  living 


580  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

would  not  have  used  me  so :)  I  say  having  receiv'd  much 
abuse  from  the  ghost  of  Titan  Leeds,  who  pretends  to  be 
still  living,  and  to  write  Almanacks  in  spight  of  me  and 
my  predictions,  I  cannot  help  saying,  that  tho'  I  take  it 
patiently,  I  take  it  very  unkindly.  And  whatever  he  may 
pretend,  't  is  undoubtedly  true  that  he  is  really  defunct 
and  dead.  First,  because  the  stars  are  seldom  disappointed, 
never  but  in  the  case  of  wise  men,  sapiens  dominabitur 
astris,  and  they  foreshadowed  his  death  at  the  time  I 
predicted  it.  Secondly,  't  was  requisite  and  necessary 
he  should  die  punctually  at  that  time  for  the  honor  of 
astrology,  the  art  professed  both  by  him  and  his  father 
before  him.  Thirdly,  't  is  plain  to  every  one  that  reads 
his  two  last  Almanacks,  (for  1734  and  '35,)  that  they  are 
not  written  with  that  life  his  performances  nse  to  be 
written  with ;  the  wit  is  low  and  flat ;  the  little  hints  dull 
and  spiritless;  nothing  smart  in  them  but  Hudibras's 
verses  against  astrology  at  the  heads  of  the  months  in  the 
last,  which  no  astrologer  but  a  dead  one  would  have  in- 
serted, and  no  man  living  would  or  could  write  such  stuff 
as  the  rest.  But  lastly,  I  shall  convince  him  from  his  own 
words  that  he  is  dead,  (ex  ore  suo  conde?nnatus  est,')  for  in 
his  preface  to  his  Almanack  for  1734,  he  says:  'Saunders 
adds  another  gross  falsehood  in  his  Almanack,  viz.,  that 
by  my  own  calculation,  I  shall  survive  until  the  26th  of 
the  said  month,  October,  1733,  whi  h  is  as  untrue  as  the 
former.'  Now  if  it  be  as  Leeds  says,  untrue  and  a  gross 
falsehood,  that  he  survived  till  the  26th  of  October,  1733, 
then  it  is  certainly  true  that  he  died  before  that  time ;  and 
if  he  died. before  that  time,  he  is  dead  now  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  any  thing  he  may  say  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. And  at  what  time  before  the  26th  is  it  so 
likely  he  should  die,  as  at  the  time  by  me  predicted,  viz., 
the  1 7th  of  October  aforesaid?  But  if  some  people  will 
walk  and  be  troublesome  after  death,  it  may  perhaps  be 


POOR   RICHARD  S  ALMANAC.  581 

borne  with  a  little,  because  it  cannot  well  be  avoided,  un- 
less one  would  be  at  the  pains  and  expence  of  laying  them 
in  the  Red  Sea;  however,  they  should  not  presume  too 
much  upon  the  liberty  allowed  them.  I  know  confine- 
ment must  needs  be  mighty  irksome  to  the  free  spirit  of 
an  astronomer,  and  I  am  too  compassionate  to  proceed 
suddenly  to  extremities  with  it ;  nevertheless,  tho'  I  re- 
solve with  reluctance,  I  shall  not  long  defer,  if  it  does 
not  speedily  learn  to  treat  its  living  friends  with  better 
manners. 

"  I  am,  courteous  reader,  your  obliged  friend  and  servant, 

1 '  R.  Saunders. 

"  October  30,  1734." 

By  this  time  the  suspicion  had  found  its  way  into  the 
rather  dense  head  of  Friend  Leeds  that  Franklin  was 
making  game  of  him,  and  he  proved  to  have  wit  enough 
to  carry  no  more  grist  to  that  mill.  Franklin,  having  no 
further  use  for  him,  looked  about  for  some  new  device  for 
making  his  Almanac  to  be  talked  about.  He  found  what 
he  sought  in  the  following  portentous  catastrophes,  which 
his  prophetic  genius  informed  him  were  to  overtake  the 
country  during  the  current  year  1736.* 


*  It  was  with  pleasure  I  learned  f.ince  the  publication  of  the  last  edition 
of  this  work  that  the  Leeds  race  in  Pennsylvania  is  not  extinct,  but  was 
until  recently,  and  I  hope  continues  still  to  be,  well  represented  by  Mr. 
Josiah  W.  Leeds,  of  Rocouncey,  Pennsylvania,  who  is  widely  known  by 
his  writings  against  war,  intemperance,  and  gambling,  and  on  education. 
He  tells  me  that  his  ancestor,  six  generations  back,  Daniel  Leeds,  of 
Burlington,  who  was  surveyor-general  of  West  New  Jersey,  was  also  the 
compiler  of  the  first  Leeds  Almanac.  The  publication  was  continued 
by  his  son  Felix,  and  by  the  latter's  son  Titan,  whom  Franklin,  as  we 
have  seen,  drove  from  the  field. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  Josiah  W.  Leeds's  maternal  grand- 
father, Nathan  Bassett,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  who  had  some  reputa- 
tion as  a  mathematician  and  an  astronomer,  was  also  a  compiler  and 
publisher  of  an  almanac. 


582 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


"  ENIGMATICAL    PROPHECIES 

"  Which  they  that  do  not  understand,  cannot  well  explain. 

"  i.  Before  the  middle  of  this  year,  a  wind  at  N.  East 
will  arise,  during  which  the  water  of  the  sea  and  rivers  will 
be  in  such  a  manner  raised,  that  great  part  of  the  towns 
of  Boston,  Newport,  New-  York,  Philadelphia,  the  low  lands 
of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  the  town  of  Charleston  in 
South  Carolina  will  be  under  water.  Happy  will  it  be  for 
the  sugar  and  salt,  standing  in  the  cellars  of  those  places, 
if  there  be  tight  roofs  and  ceilings  overhead;  otherwise 
without  being  a  Conjurer,  a  man  may  easily  foretel  that 
such  commodities  will  receive  damage. 

"  2.  About  the  middle  of  the  year,  great  number  of 
vessels  fully  laden,  will  be  taken  out  of  the  ports  aforesaid, 
by  a  power  with  which  we  are  not  now  at  war,  and  whose 
forces  shall  not  be  descried  or  seen,  either  coming  or 
going.  But  in  the  end  this  may  not  be  disadvantageous  to 
those  places. 

"3.  However,  not  long  after,  a  visible  Army  of  20,000 
Musketeers  will  land,  some  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and 
some  in  the  lower  counties  on  both  sides  of  Delaware,  who 
will  over  run  the  country,  and  sorely  annoy  the  inhabitants: 
But  the  air  in  this  climate  will  agree  with  them  so  ill  to- 
wards winter,  that  they  will  die  in  the  beginning  of  cold 
weather  like  rotten  sheep,  and  by  Christmas  the  inhabitants 
will  get  the  better  of  them. 

"  Note, — In  my  n?xt  Almanack  these  E?iigmaiical  Proph- 
ecies will  be  explained. ' ' 

Accordingly,  in  his  Almanac  for  1737  we  have  the  ex- 
planation promi.-ed, — viz. : 

t '  1 .  The  water  of  the  sea  and  rivers  is  raised  in  vapours 
by  the  sun,  is  form'd  into  clouds  in  the  air,  and  thence 
descends  in  rain.     Now  when  there  is  rain  overhead  (which 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


583 


frequently  happens  when  the  wind  is  at  N.  E.)  the  cities 
and  places  on  the  earth  below,  are  certainly  under  water. 

"2.  The  power  with  which  we  were  not  then  at  war, 
but  which,  it  was  said,  would  take  many  full  laden  vessels 
out  of  our  ports  before  the  end  of  the  year,  is  the  Wind, 
whose  forces  also  are  not  descried  either  coming  or  going. 

"  3.  The  army  which  it  was  said  would  land  in  Virginia, 
Maryland,  and  the  lower  counties  on  Delaware,  were  not 
Musketeers,  with  guns  on  their  shoulders  as  some  expected ; 
but  their  namesakes,  in  pronunciation,  tho'  truly  spelt 
Moschitos,  arm'd  only  with  a  sharp  sting.  Every  one 
knows  they  are  fish  before  they  fly,  being  bred  in  the 
water  j  and  therefore  may  properly  be  said  to  land  before 
they  become  generally  troublesome." 

In  1 738  Poor  Richard  surprises  his  readers  with  a  preface 
from  Mistress  Saunders,  in  which  she  sets  forth  at  length 
and  in  a  very  womanly  way  her  reasons  for  refusing  to 
have  the  preface  printed  which  her  husband,  who  had  gone 
on  a  visit  to  "an  old  star-gazer  of  his  acquaintance,"  had 
prepared  and  left  for  her  to  put  in  type. 

"PREFACE   BY   MISTRESS   SAUNDERS. 

"Dear  Readers  : 

"  My  good  man  set  out  last  week  for  Potowmack,  to 
visit  an  old  star-gazer  of  his  acquaintance,  and  to  see  about 
a  little  place  for  us  to  settle  and  end  our  days  on.  He  left 
a  copy  of  his  Almanack  seal'd  up,  and  bid  me  send  it  to 
the  press.  I  suspected  something,  and  therefore,  as  soon 
as  he  was  gone,  I  open'd  it,  to  see  if  he  had  not  been 
flinging  some  of  his  old  skitts  at  me  Just  as  I  thought, 
so  it  was.  And  truly  (for  want  of  something  else  to  say,  I 
suppose,)  he  had  put  into  his  preface,  that  his  wife,  Bridget, 
was  this,  and  that,  and  t'  other.  What  a  pease-cods  !  can- 
not I  have  a  little  fault  or  two,  but  all  the  country  must 


584  POOR  RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

see  it  in  print !  They  have  already  been  told,  at  one  time 
that  I  am  proud,  another  time  that  I  am  loud,  and  that  I 
have  got  a  new  petticoat,  and  abundance  of  that  kind  of 
stuff;  and  now  forsooth  !  all  the  world  must  know,  that 
poor  Dick's  wife  has  lately  taken  a  fancy  to  drink  a  liitle 
tea  now  and  then.  A  mighty  matter  truly,  to  make  a  song 
of!  'T  is  true  I  had  a  little  tea  of  a  present  from  the 
Printer  last  year;  and  what,  must  a- body  throw  it  away? 
In  short,  I  thought  the  preface  was  not  worth  a-printing, 
and  so  I  fairly  scratch' d  it  all  out,  and  I  believe  you  '11 
like  our  Almanack  never  the  worse  for  it. 

"Upon  looking  over  the  months,  I  see  he  has  put  in 
abundance  of  foul  weather  this  year ;  and  therefor  I  have 
scattered  here  and  there,  where  I  could  find  room,  some 
fair,  pleasant,  sunshiny,  &c,  for  the  good  women  to  dry 
their  clothes  in.  If  it  does  not  come  to  pass  according  to 
my  desire,  I  have  shown  my  goodwill,  however;  and  I 
hope  they'll  take  it  in  good  part. 

"I  had  a  design  to  make  some  other  corrections;  and 
particularly  to  change  some  of  the  verses  that  I  don't  very 
well  like ;  but  I  have  just  now  unluckily  broke  my  spec- 
tacles ;  which  obliges  me  to  give  it  you  as  it  is,  and  con- 
clude your  loving  friend, 

"Bridget  Saunders." 

This  preface  by  Mistress  Bridget  is  followed  by  two 
quodlibets  of  opposite  sex  from  Poor  Richard : 

"  Dick's  wife  was  sick,  and  pos'd  the  doctors'  skill, 
Who  differ'd  how  to  cure  th'  inveterate  ill. 
Purging  the  one  prescribed.     No,  quoth  another, 
That  will  do  neither  good  nor  harm,  my  brother, 
Bleeding  's  the  only  way ;  't  was  quick  reply'd, 
That's  certain  death;  but  e'en  let  Dick  decide. 
*  Pse  no  great  skill, '  quo'  Richard,  '  by  the  Rood, 
But  I  think  bleeding  's  like  to  do  most  good. '  ' ' 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


585 


"There  are  three  faithful  friends — an  old  wife,  an  old 
dog,  and  ready  money." 

This  introduction  of  Mistress   Bridget  recalls  the  ro- 
mantic story  he  has  given  in   his   autobiography  of  his 
landing  in  Philadelphia,  yet  a  lad  in  his  teens,  with  only  a 
few  pent  e  in  his  pocket,  and,  while  munching  a  roll  he 
had  bought  on  his  way  up  Market  Street,  seeing  his  future 
wife  standing  on  her  door-step  as  he  passed,  making  to  her 
eyes,  as  she  afterwards  informed  him,  -'a  most  awkward   JQ^ 
and  ridiculous  figure  "    This  did  not  prevent  her  marrying 
him  some  two  years  later,  and  making  him  "a  good  and 
faithful  wife  for  forty-nine  years."    She  died  a  few  months   <i&*^ 
before  Franklin  returned  from  his  mission  to  England  as  a. &. 
agent  of  the  Colonies,  December  19,  1774. 

In  running  over  the  several  Poor  Richard  Almanacs  one  £-ou 
can  hardly  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  numerous  and  kalei- 
doscopic phases  in  which  matrimony  figures  in  their  pages. 
The  quarre's  and  reconciliations  of  Punch  and  Judy  are 
the  theme  of  the  oldest  drama  in  the  world  that  yet  keeps 
the  stage ;  and  Franklin,  with  the  instinct  of  true  genius, 
was  the  first  publisher  to  see  how  that  theme  could  be 
made  available  in  the  domestication  of  an  almanac 

In  the  very  first  one  issued  he  pretends  to  have  been 
driven  info  business  by  his  wife,  who,  he  said,  "  is  exces- 
sive proud  and  cannot  lear  to  sit  spinning  in  her  shift 
of  tow  while  I  do  nothing  but  gaze  at  the  stars."  To 
show  with  what  varied  skill  he  dealt  with  the  lights  and 
shadows  of  matrimony,  we  will  here  present  a  few  speci- 
mens : 

"Ne'er  take  a  wife  till  thou  hast  a  house  (and  a  fire) 
to  put  her  in." 


586  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

And  farther  on  the  following : 

"Keep  your  eyes  wide  open  before  marriage,  half  shut 
afterwards. ' ' 

The  importance  of  punctuation  is  cleverly  illustrated  in 
the  following  lines : 

"a  doubtful  meaning. 

"  The  female  kind  is  counted  ill : 
And  is  indeed  :   the  contrary  ; — 
No  man  can  find  :  that  hurt  they  will : 
But  everywhere  :   shew  charity : 
To  nobody ;  malicious  still ; 
In  word  or  deed  :  believe  you  me. ' ' 

"the  two  or  three  necessaries. 

"Two  or  three  frolicks  abroad  in  sweet  May, 
Two  or  three  civil  things  said  by  the  way, 
Two  or  three  languishes,  two  or  three  sighs, 
Two  or  three  bless  mis  and  let  me  die's  / 
Two  or  three  squeezes,  and  two  or  three  tow-zes, 
With  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  spent  at  their  houses, 
Can  never  fail  cuckolding  two  or  three  spouses." 

January,  1735. 

"  Would  men  but  follow  what  the  Sex  advise, 
All  things  would  prosper,  all  the  World  grow  wise. 
'T  was  by  Rebecca's  Aid  \\\dX  Jacob  won 
His  Father's  Blessing  from  an  elder  Son. 
Abusive  Nabal  ow'd  his  forfeit  Life 
To  the  wise  Conduct  of  a  prudent  Wife. 
At  Hester 's  Suit,  the  persecuting  Sword 
Was  sheath'd,  and  Israel  liv'd  to  bless  the  Lord." 

August,  1744. 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


587 


"  Good  Death,  said  a  Woman,  for  once  be  so  kind 
To  take  me,  and  leave  my  dear  Husband  behind, 
But  when  Death  appear' d  with  a  sour  Grimace, 
The  Woman  was  dash'd  at  his  thin  hatchet  face; 
So  she  made  him  a  Courts'  y,  and  modestly  sed, 
If  you  come  for  my  Husband,  he  lies  there  in  Bed." 

"Dick  told  his  spouse,  he  durst  be  bold  to  swear 
Whatever   she  pray' d  for,    Heav'n    would  thwart   her 

pray'r: 
'Indeed /'  says  Nell,  "t  is  what  I' tn  pleased  to  hear; 
For  now  P 11  pray  for  your  long  life,  my  dear.'  ' 

September,  1743. 


Time  was  my  spouse  and  I  could  not  agree, 

Striving  about  superiority : 

The  text  which  saith  that  man  and  wife  are  one, 

Was  the  chief  argument  we  stood  upon  : 

She  held,  they  both  one  woman  should  become ; 

I  held  they  should  be  man,  and  both  but  one. 

Thus  we  contended  daily,  but  the  strife 

Could  not  be  ended,  till  both  were  one  wife." 

October,  1733. 


"  My  sickly  spouse,  with  many  a  sigh 
Once  told  me, — Dicky,  I  shall  die  ; 
I  griev'd,  but  recollected  strait, 
'T  was  bootless  to  contend  with  fate : 
So  resignation  to  Heaven's  will 
Prepar'd  me  for  succeeding  ill ; 
'T  was  well  it  did ;  for  on  my  life, 
'T  was  Heaven's  will  to  spare  my  wife." 

January,  1740. 


5 88  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

"  Says  Roger  to  his  wife,  My  dear, 
The  strangest  piece  of  news  I  hear ! 
A  law,  't  is  said,  will  quickly  pass 
To  purge  the  matrimonial  class ; 
Cuckolds,  if  any  such  we  have  here, 
Must  to  a  man  be  thrown  i'  the  river. 
She  smiling  cry'd — My  dear,  you  seem 
Surpriz'd — Pray  ha1  n't  you  karri 'd to  swim?" 

April,  1740. 

"  Having  considered,"  he  says  in  his  Almanac  for  1739, 
"  the  infinite  abuses  arising  from  the  false  prognostications 
published  among  you,  made  under  the  shadow  of  a  pot  of 
drink  or  so,  1  have  here  calculated  one  of  the  most  sure 
and  unerring  that  ever  was  seen  in  black  and  white,  as 
hereafter  you  will  find,  for  doubtless  it  is  a  heinous,  foul 
and  crying  sin  to  deceive  the  poor  gaping  world,  greedy 
of  the  knowledge  of  futurity  as  we  Americans  all  are. ' ' 

He  then  proceeds  to  give  what  he  terms  "  a  true  prog- 
nostication for  1739."  Here  is  what  he  says  under  the 
head  of  Eclipses : 

"  ECLIPSES. 

"There  are  so  many  invisible  eclipses  this  year,  that  I 
fear,  not  unjustly,  our  pockets  will  suffer  inanition,  be  full 
empty,  and  our  feeling  at  a  loss  During  the  first  visible 
eclipse  Saturn  is  retrograde :  For  which  reason  the  crabs 
will  go  sidelong  and  the  ropemakers  backward.     The  belly 

will  wag  before,  and  the shall  sit  down  first.    Mercury 

will  have  his  share  in  these  affairs,  and  so  confound  the 
speech  of  the  people,  that  when  a  Pennsylvanian  would 
say  Panther  he  shall  say  Painter.  When  a  New  Yorker 
thinks  to  say  This,  he  shall  say  Diss,  and  the  People  in 
New-England  and  Cape  May  will  not  be  able  to  say  Cow 
for  their  Lives,  but  will  be  forc'd  to  say  Keow  by  a  certain 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


589 


involuntary  Twist  in  the  Root  of  their  Tongues.  No  Con- 
necticut-Ma?i  nor  Marylander  will  be  able  to  open  his 
Mouth  this  Year,  but  Sir  shall  be  the  first  or  last  Syllable 
he  pronounces,  and  sometimes  both.  Brutes  shall  speak 
in  many  Places,  and  there  will  be  above  seven  and  twenty 
irregular  Verbs  made  this  Year,  if  Grammar  don't  ^inter- 
pose.    Who  can  help  these  Misfortunes  ! 

"OF   THE   DISEASeS    THIS    YEAR. 

"  This  Year  the  Stone-blind  shall  see  but  very  little ; 
the  Deaf  shall  hear  but  poorly  ;  and  the  Dumb  shan't  speak 
very  plain.  And  it's  much,  if  my  Dame  Bridget  talks  at 
all  this  Year.  Whole  Flocks,  Herds  and  Droves  of  Sheep, 
Swine  and  Oxen,  Cocks  and  Hens,  Ducks  and  Drakes, 
Geese  and  Ganders  shall  go  to  Pot ;  but  the  Mortality  will 
not  be  altogether  so  great  among  Cats,  Dogs  and  Horses. 
As  for  old  age,  'twill  be  incurable  this  Year,  because  of  the 
Years  past.  And  towards  the  Fall  some  P*  ople  will  be 
seiz'd  with  an  unaccountable  Inclination  to  roast  and  eat 
their  own  Ears:  Should  this  be  call'd  Madness,  Doctors? 
I  think  not.  But  the  worst  Disease  of  all  will  be  a  cer- 
tain most  horrid,  dreadful,  malignant,  catching,  perverse 
and  odious  Malady,  almost  epidemical,  insomuch  that  many 
shall  run  Mad  upon  it ;  I  quake  for  very  Fear  when  I  think 
on't;  for  I  assure  you  very  few  will  escape  this  Disease; 
which  is  called  by  the  learned  Albumazar  Lacko'mony. 

"OF   THE    FRUITS    OF    THE    EARTH. 

.  find  that  this  will  be  a  plentiful  Year  of  all  manner 
of  good  Things,  to  those  who  have  enough  ;  but  the  Orange 
Trees  in  Greenland  will  go  near  to  fare  the  worse  for  the 
Cold.  As  for  Oats,  they'll  be  a  great  Help  to  Horses. 
I  dare  say  there  won't  be  much  more  Bacon  than  Swine. 
Mercury  somewhat  threatens  our  Parsley  Beds,  yet  Parsley 
will  be  to  be  had  for  Money.     Hemp  will  grow  faster  than 


59q  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

the  Children  of  this  Age,  and  some  will  find  there's  but 
too  much  on't.  As  for  Corn,  Fruit,  Cyder  and  Turnips, 
there  never  was  such  Plenty  as  will  be  now  ;  if  poor  Folks 
may  have  their  Wish. 

"of  the  conditions  of  some  countries. 
"  I  Foresee  an  universal  Droughth  this  Year  thro'  all  the 
Northern  Colonies  Hence  there  will  be  dry  Rice  in  Caro- 
lina, dry  Tobacco  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  dry  Bread  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York ;  and,  in  New  England,  dry 
Fish  &  Dry  Doctrine.  Dry  Throats  there  will  be  every- 
where ;  but  then  how  pleasant  it  will  be  to  drink  cool  Cyder ! 
tho'  some  will  tell  you  nothing  is  more  contrary  to  Thirst. 
I  believe  it ;  and  indeed,  Contraria  Contrariis  Curantur. 

"R.  Saunders." 

In  1738  Titan  Leeds  actually  did  die.  Franklin  could 
not  resist  the  temptation,  even  on  the  border  of  the  grave, 
to  have  one  more  joke  at  his  rival's  expense,  or,  rather,  at 
the  expense  of  his  successors  in  the  almanac  business,  and 
at  the  same  time  opened  a  new  quarry  of  jokes,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  one  John  Jerman,  another  almanac-maker,  pre- 
dicting that  he  would  soon  be  reconciled  to  the  Church 
of  Rome,  a  fate  which,  in  the  prevailing  religious  feeling 
in  the  Colonies  at  that  time,  was  nearly  as  disastrous  as 
that  which  had  been  predicted  for  poor  Leeds  in  1733. 
The  W.  B.  and  A.  B.  herein  referred  to  were  the  brothers 
William  and  Andrew  Bradford,  the  first  of  whom  subse- 
quently established  the  first  printing-press  in  New  York. 

"Courteous  Reader: 

"You  may  remember  that  in  my  first  Almanac,  pub- 
lished for  the  Year  1733,  I  predicted  the  Death  of  my 
dear  Friend  Titan  Leeds,  Philomat,  to  happen  that  Year 
on  the  17th  Day  of  October,  3  h.  29  m.  P.  M.     But  W.  B. 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


591 


and  A.  B.  have  continued  to  publish  Almanacks  in  his 
Name  ever  since ;  asserting  for  some  Years  that  he  was 
still  living.  At  length  when  the  Truth  could  no  longer 
be  conceal' d  from  the  World,  they  confess  his  Death  in 
their  Almanack  for  1739,  but  pretend  that  he  died  not  till 
last  Year,  and  that  before  his  departure  he  had  furnished 
them  with  Calculations  for  7  Years  to  come.  Ah,  My 
Friends,  these  are  poor  Shifts  and  thin  Disguises ;  of  which 
indeed  I  should  have  taken  little  or  no  Notice,  if  you  had 
not  at  the  same  time  accus'd  me  as  a  false  Predictor;  an 
Aspersion  that  the  more  affects  me,  as  my  whole  Lively- 
hood  depends  on  a  contrary  Character. 

"  But  to  put  this  Matter  beyond  Dispute,  I  shall  acquaint 
the  World  with  a  fact,  as  strange  and  surprising  as  it  is 
true;  being  as  follows,  viz. 

"On  the  4th  Instant,  towards  midnight,  as  I  sat  in  my 
little  Study  writing  this  Preface,  I  fell  fast  asleep ;  and  con- 
tinued in  that  Condition  for  some  time,  without  dreaming 
any  thing,  to  my  Knowledge.  On  awaking,  I  found  lying 
before  me  the  following  Letter,  viz. 

"'Dear  Friend  Saunders, — My  Respect  for  you  con- 
tinues even  in  this  separate  State,  and  I  am  griev'd  to  see 
the  Aspersions  thrown  on  you  by  the  Malevolence  of  ava- 
ricious Publishers  of  Almanacks,  who  envy  your  Success. 
They  say  your  Prediction  of  my  Death  in  1733  was  false, 
and  they  pretend  that  I  remained  alive  many  Years  after. 
But  I  do  hereby  certify,  that  I  did  actually  die  at  that  time, 
precisely  at  the  Hour  you  mentioned,  with  a  Variation  only 
of  $  min.  53  sec.  which  must  be  allow' d  to  be  no  great 
matter  in  such  Cases.  And  I  do  further  declare  that  1 
furnish' d  them  with  no  Calculations  of  the  Planets  Motions, 
&*c.  seven  Years  after  my  Death,  as  they  are  pleased  to  give 
out :  so  that  the  Stuff  they  publish  as  an  Almanack  in  my 
Name  is  no  more  mine  than  V  is  yours. 


592  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

"  '  You  will  wonder  perhaps ,  how  this  Paper  comes  written 
on  your  Table.  You  must  know  that  no  separate  Spirits 
are  under  any  Confinement  till  after  the  final  Settlement 
of  all  Accounts.  In  the  mean  time  we  wander  where  we 
please,  visit  our  old  Friends,  observe  their  Actions,  enter 
sometimes  into  their  Imaginations,  and  give  them  Hints 
waking  or  sleeping  that  may  be  of  Advantage  to  them. 
Finding  you  asleep  I  entered  your  left  Nostril,  ascended  into 
your  Brain,  found  out  where  the  ends  of  those  Nerves  were 
fastened  that  move  your  right  Hand  and  Fingers,  by  the 
Help  of  which  I  am  now  writing  unknown  to  you  ;  but  when 
you  open  your  Eyes,  you  will  see  that  the  Hand  writing  is 
tnine,  tho'  wrote  with  yours. 

"  '  The  People  of  this  Infidel  Age,  perhaps,  will  hardly 
believe  this  Story.  But  you  may  give  them  these  three  Signs 
by  which  they  shall  be  convinced  of  the  Truth  of  it.     About 

the   middle  of  June   next,  J.  J n,  Philomat,  shall  be 

openly  reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  give  all  his 
Goods  and  Chattels  to  the  Chappel,  being  perverted  by  a 
certain  Country  Schoolmaster.      On  the  yth  of  September 

following  my  old  Friend  W.  B 1  shall  be  sober  9  Hours, 

to  the  Astonishment  of  all  his  Neighbors :  And  about  the 
same  timeW.  B.  and  A.  B.  will  publish  another  Almanack 
in  my  Name,  in  spight  of  Truth  and  Common-Sense. 

"  As  I  can  see  much  clearer  into  Futurity,  since  I  got 
free  from  the  dark  Prison  of  Flesh,  i?i  which  I  was  con- 
tinually molested  and  almost  blinded  with  Fogs  arising  from 
Tiff,  and  the  smoke  of  burnt  Drams,  I  shall  in  kindness  to 
you,  frequently  give  you  Informations  of  things  to  come,  for 
the  Improvement  of  your  Almanack :  Being,  Dear  Dick, 
Your  affectionate  Friend,  T.  Leeds.' 

"  For  my  own  part  I  am  convinc'd  that  the  above  Letter 
is  genuine.  If  the  Reader  doubts  of  it,  let  him  carefully 
observe    the    three    Signs ;    and    if  they  do    not    actually 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


593 


come  to  pass,  believe  as  he  pleases.     I  am  his  humble 

Friend, 

"R.  Saunders." 

Jerman  failed  to  profit  by  the  defunct  rival's  experience, 
and  in  his  next  almanac  denied,  as  Franklin  no  doubt 
expected  he  would,  that  he  was  or  ever  had  any  intention 
to  become  a  papist,  and  denounced  Franklin  as  one  of 
Baal's  false  prophets.  In  his  Almanac  for  1742  Franklin 
produces  the  evidence  of  Jerman's  perversion: 

"  During  the  Course  of  these  nine  Years,  what  Buffetings 
have  I  not  sustained  !  The  Fraternity  have  been  all  in 
Arms.  Honest  Titan,  deceas'd,  was  rais'd,  and  made  to 
abuse  his  old  Friend.  Both  Authors  and  Printers  were 
angry.  Hard  Names,  and  many  were  bestow' d  on  me. 
They  deny'd  me  to  be  the  Author  of  my  own  Works; 
declar'd  there  never  was  any  such  Person;  asserted  that  I 
was  dead  60  Years  ago ;  prognosticated  my  Death  to  hap- 
pen within  a  Twelve-Month :  with  many  other  malicious 
Inconsistencies,  the  Effects  of  blind  Passion,  Envy  at  my 
Success ;  and  a  vain  hope  of  depriving  me,  (dear  reader) 
of  thy  wonted  Countenance  and  Favor. —  WJ10  knows  him  ? 
they  cry  :  Where  does  he  live  ? — But  what  is  that  to  them  ? 
If  I  delight  in  a  private  life,  have  they  any  Right  to  drag 
me  out  of  my  Retirement?  I  have  good  Reasons  for  con- 
cealing the  Place  of  my  Abode.  'T  is  time  for  an  old 
Man,  as  I  am,  to  think  of  preparing  for  his  great  Remove. 
The  perpetual  Teasing  of  both  Neighbors  and  Strangers, 
to  calculate  Nativities,  give  Judgments  on  Schemes,  erect 
Figures,  discover  Thieves,  detect  Horse-Stealers,  describe 
the  Route  of  Run-Aways  and  stray'd  Cattle.  The  Croud 
of  Visitors  with  a  1000  trifling  Questions;  Will  my  Ship 
return  safe  ?  Will  my  Mare  win  the  Race  ?  Will  her  next 
Colt  be  a  Pacer  ?     When  will  my  Wife  die  ?     Who  shall  be 


594 


POOR  RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


my  Husband,  and  How  Long  first  ?  Whe?i  is  the  best  time 
to  cut  Hair ;  trim  Cocks,  or  sow  Sal  lad  ?  These  and  the 
like  Impertinences  I  have  now  neither  Taste  nor  Leisure 
for.  I  have  had  enough  of  'em.  All  that  these  angry 
Folks  can  say,  will  never  provoke  me  to  tell  them  where 
I  live.     I  would  eat  my  Nails  first. 

"My  last  Adversary  is  J.  J n,  Philomat,  Who  de- 
clares and  protests  (in  his  Preface,  1741)  that  the  false 
prophecy  put  in  my  Almanack,  concerning  him,  the  Year 
before,  is  altogether  false  and  untrue :  and  that  I  am  one 
of  Baal's  false  Prophets.  This  false,  false  prophecy  he 
speaks  of,  related  to  his  Reconciliation  with  the  Church 
of  Rome ;  which,  notwithstanding  his  Declaring  and  Pro- 
testing, is  I  fear,  too  true.  Two  things  in  his  elegiac 
Verses  confirm  me  in  this  Suspicion.  He  calls  the  First 
of  November  by  the  name  of  All-Hallows  Day.  Reader  ; 
does  not  this  smell  of  Popery  ?  Does  it  in  the  least  savour 
of  the  pure  Language  of  Friends  ?  But  the  plainest  thing 
is  his  Adoration  of  Saints,  which  he  confesses  to  be  his 
Practice  in  these  Words,  page  4, 

When  any  trouble  did  me  befall, 
To  my  dear  Mary  then  I  would  call. 

Did  he  think  the  whole  World  were  so  stupid  as  not  to 
take  Notice  of  this?  So  ignorant  as  not  to  know  +hat  all 
Catholicks,  pay  the  highest  Regard  to  the  Virgin- Mary  ? 
Ah !  Friend  fohn,  We  must  allow  you  to  be  a  Poet,  but 
you  are  certainly  no  Protestant.  I  could  heartily  wish 
your  Religion  were  as  good  as  your  Verses. 

"Richard  Saunders." 

jerman  was  not  quite  so  long  as  Leeds  in  discovering 
the  use  Franklin  was  making  of  him,  and  in  his  American 
Almanac  for  1743  says, — 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


"The  Reader  may  expect  a  reply  from  me  to  R- 


595 


S rs  alias  B F ns  facetious  Way  of  proving  me 

no  Protestant.  I  do  hereby  protest,  that  for  that  and  such 
kind  of  Usage  the  Printer  of  that  witty  Performance  shall 
not  have  the  Benefit  of  my  Almanack  for  this  Year.  To 
avoid  further  Contention,  and  judging  it  unnecessary  to 
offer  any  Proofs  to  those  of  my  Acquaintance  that  I  am 
not  a  Papist,  I  shall  with  these  few  Lines  conclude,  and 
give  place  to  what  I  think  more  agreeable  to  my  Readers. 

"John  Jerman." 

Franklin,  wh  never  allc  wed  his  rivals  to  have  the  last 
word,  and  anxious,  no  dcubt,  to  provoke  this  one  to  further 
controversy,  returns  to  the  attack  in  his  Almanac  for  1744. 
He  says, — 

"  My  Adversary  J n  J n  has  indeed  made  an 

Attempt  to  out-shine  me  by  pretending  to  penetrate  a  Year 
deeper  into  Futurity ;  and  giving  his  Readers  gratis  in  his 
Almanac  for  1743  an  Eclipse  of  the  Year  1744,  to  be  before- 
hand with  me :  His  Words  are,  '  The  first  day  of  April 
next  Year  1 744,  there  will  be  a  Great  Eclipse  of  the  Sun ; 
it  begins  about  an  Hour  before  Sunset.  It  being  in  the 
Sign  Aries,  the  House  of  Mars,  and  in  the  7th,  shows  Heat, 
Difference  and  Animosities  between  Persons  of  the  highest 
Rank  and  Quality,'  &c.  I  am  very  glad,  for  the  sake  of 
***se  Persons  of  Rank  and  Quality,  that  there  is  *  *  man- 
ner of  Truth  in  this  Prediction  :  They  may,  *  *  *  *  please, 
live  in  Love  and  Peace.  And  I  *  *  *  *  his  Readers  (they 
are  but  few,  indeed,  and  so  the  Matter's  the  less)  not  to 
give  themselves  any  Trouble  about  observing  this  imaginary 
Great  Eclipse  ;  for  they  may  stare  till  they're  blind  without 
seeing  the  least  Sign  of  it.     I  might,  on  this  Occasion, 

return  Mr.  J n  the  name  of  Baal's  false  Prophet  he 

gave  me  some  Years  ago  in  his  Wrath,  on  Account  of  my 


596  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

Predicting  his  Reconciliation  with  the  Church  of  Rome, 
(tho'  he  seems  now  to  have  given  up  that  Point)  but  I 
think  such  Language  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  old  Men  and 
Scholars  unbecoming  j  and  *  *  *"!=*  .*■  •'■♦ ;  *  *  the  Affair 
with  the  Buyers  of  his  Almanack  as  well  as  he  can,  who 
perhaps  will  not  take  it  kindly,  that  he  has  done  what  in 
him  lay  (sending  them  out  to  gaze  at  an  invisible  Eclipse 
on  the  first  of  April)  to  make  April  Fools  of  them  all. 
His  old  thread-bare  Excuse  which  he  repeats  Year  after 
Year  about  the  Weather,  '  That  no  Man  can  be  infallible 
therein,  by  Reason  of  the  many  contrary  Causes  happening 
at  or  near  the  same  time,  and  the  Unconstancy  of  the  Sum- 
mer Showers  and  Gusts,'  &c.  will  hardly  serve  him  in  the 
Affair  of  Eclipses  ;  and  I  know  not  where  he'll  get  another." 

In  his  issue  for  1 746  Franklin  gave  his  preface  in  verse, 
and  it  is  worthy  of  being  cited  here  as  a  specimen  of  the 
sort  of  verse  which  he  thought  good  enough,  at  least  for 
an  Almanac.  The  reader  will  see  that  so  far  as  Franklin 
had  cultivated  the  Muses  he  had  studied  in  the  school  of 
Alexander  Pope. 

"  Who  is  Poor  Richard?  People  oft  enquire 
Where  lives  ;  What  is  he  ? — never  yet  the  nigher. 
Somewhat  to  ease  your  Curiositie, 
Take  these  slight  Sketches  of  my  Dame  and  me. 
Thanks  to  kind  Readers  and  a  careful  Wife, 
With  plenty  bless'd,  I  lead  an  easy  Life, 
My  Business  Writing ;  hers  to  drain  the  Mead, 
Or  crown  the  barren  Hill  with  useful  Shade ; 
In  the  smooth  Glebe  to  see  the  Plowshare  worn, 
And  fill  the  Granary  with  needful  Corn. 
Press  nectarous  Cyder  from  my  loaded  Trees, 
Print  the  sweet  Butter,  turn  the  drying  Cheese. 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 


597 


Some  Books  we  read,  tho'  few  there  are  that  hit 
The  happy  Point  where  Wisdom  joins  with  Wit ; 
rl  hat  set  fair  Virtue  naked  to  our  View, 
And  teach  us  what  is  decent,  what  is  true. 
The  Friend  sincere,  and  honest  Man,  with  Joy 
Treating  or  treated  oft  our  Time  employ. 
Our  Table  neat,  Meals  temperate  ;  and  our  Door 
Op'ning  spontaneous  to  the  bashful  Poor. 
Free  from  the  Bitter  Rage  of  Party  Zeal, 
All  those  we  love  who  seek  the  publick  Weal. 
Nor  blindly  follow  Superstition's  Lore, 
Which  cheats  deluded  Mankind  o'er  and  o'er. 
Not  over  righteous,  quite  beyond  the  Rule, 
Conscience'perplext  by  every  canting  Tool. 
Nor  yet  when  Folly  hides  the  dubious  Line, 
Where  Good  and  Bad  their  blended  Colours  join ; 
Rush  indiscreetly  down  the  dangerous  Steep, 
And  plunge  uncertain  in  the  darksome  Deep. 
Cautious,  if  right;  if  wrong  resolv'd  to  part 
The  Inmate  Snake  that  folds  about  the  Heart. 
Observe  the  Mean,  the  Motive  and  the  End; 
Mending  ourselves,  or  striving  still  to  mend. 
Our  Souls  sincere,  our  Purpose  fair  and  free, 
Without  Vain  Glory  or  Hypocrisy: 
Thankful  if  well ;  if  ill,  we  kiss  the  Rod ; 
Resign  with  Hope,  and  put  our  Trust  in  God." 

(Preface,  1746.) 

Owing  to  the  costliness  of  paper  in  those  days,  and  the 
scarcity  of  money  in  the  colonies,  Franklin  allowed  the 
printer  no  "  fat"  in  his  Almanacs,  but  in  every  unoccupied 
space  or  line  he  "interspersed" — to  use  his  own  expres- 
sion in  the  preface  for  1747 — "moral  Sentences,  prudent 
Maxims,  and  wise  Sayings,  many  of  them  containing  much 
good  sense  in  very  few  Words,  and  therefore  apt  to  leave 


59S  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

strong  and  lasting  Impressions  on  the  Memory  of  young 
Persons,  whereby  they  may  receive  Benefit  as  long  as  they 
live,  when  both  Almanack  and  Almanack -maker  have  been 
thrown  by  and  forgotten. 

"If  I  now  and  then,"  he  continues,  "insert  a  Joke  or 
two,  that  seem  to  have  little  in  them,  my  Apology  is,  that 
such  may  have  their  Use,  since  perhaps  for  their  Sake  light 
airy  Minds  peruse  the  rest,  and  so  are  struck  by  somewhat 
of  more  Weight  and  Moment. ' ' 

These  "  prudent  maxims  and  wise  sayings,"  the  most  of 
which,  and  for  their  purpose  I  suspect  the  best  of  which, 
were  his  own,  soon  entered  into  the  current  coin  of  popu- 
lar speech.  They  all  inculcated  the  homely  virtues  of 
honesty,  frugality,  industry,  modesty,  patience,  faith  in 
the  right,  loyalty  to  engagements,  contentment,  and,  as 
expressed  in  the  concluding  lines  of  the  preface  of  1746, 
just  cited,  a  strict  observance  of 

"  •  *  *  the  Mean,  the  Motive  and  the  End; 
Mending  ourselves,  or  striving  still  to  mend." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  or  even  to  estimate 
the  effect  of  these  concentrated  lessons  of  wisdom  upon 
the  character  of  the  American  people,  or  to  say  when  their 
influence  will  ce.ise  to  be  operative. 

Mr.  Ford,  in  his  admirable  discourse  on  the  Almanacs 
of  Poor  Richard,  says,* — 

"Few  if  any  now  living  can  appreciate  how  large  a 
space  this  little  pamphlet  of  a  dozen  leaves  filled  only  one 


*  The  Prefaces,  Proverbs,  and  Poems  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  originally 
printed  in  Poor  Richard's  Almanacs  for  1733-1758.  Collected  and  edited 
by  Paul  Leicester  Ford. 


POOR    RICHARD'S  ALMANAC.  599 

hundred  years  ago,  and  this  importance  increases  as  we 
trace  it  back  to  its  first  appearance  in  this  country.  To 
the  present  generation  it  is  merely  a  cover  for  soap,  patent 
medicine,  or  other  quackery  advertising,  but  in  our  colo- 
nial period  it  was  the  vade  mecum  of  every  household, — 
a  calendar,  diary,  meteorological  bureau,  jest-,  recipe-,  and 
indeed  sometimes  school-book,  for,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Bible,  it  was  often  the  )  ear's  sole  reading  matter  in 
many  families,  and  a  poor  and  shiftless  one  it  was,  in- 
deed, which,  as  the  new  year  approached,  had  not  the 
necessary  sum,  ranging  from  a  penny  to  sixpence,  to  be 
exchanged  for  the  annual  issue.  In  every  well-ordered 
kitchen  a  nail  was  driven  in  the  chimney -breast,  on  which, 
as  the  old  year  waned,  a  fresh  almanac  was  hung.  How 
eagerly  must  all  have  read  it  for  the  first  time  !  How  im- 
portant were  its  weather  predictions  and  statistical  matter ! 
How  amusing  its  jokes  and  anecdotes,  which,  served  up 
anew  year  after  year,  were  greeted  by  no  chestnut-bell, 
and  never  became  old  or  stale  !  But  if  the  humor  was 
perennial,  not  so  the  almanac  !  Slowly  as  the  season  ad- 
vanced it  lost  its  first  youthful  freshness,  became  brown 
and  thumbed,  then  ragged,  till  when  the  trees  commenced 
to  shed  their  leaves  the  almanac  proved  itself  no  bad  imi- 
tator, and  its  successor  found  no  rival  to  contest  its  right 
to  the  hook." 

The  reader,  I  am  sure,  will  welcome  a  few  more  speci- 
mens of  the  golden  sentences  with  which  Franklin  enriched 
the  otherwise  unoccupied  spaces  of  his  Almanacs,  and  which 
most  distinctly  bear  the  impress  of  his  genius : 

Beware  of  meat  twice  boil'd,  and  an  old  foe  reconcil'd. 
A  false  friend  and  a  shadow  attend  only  while  the  sun 
shines. 

There  is  no  little  enemy. 


600  POOR   RICHARD'S   ALMANAC. 

He's  the  best  physician  that  knows  the  worth lessness  of 
the  most  medicines. 

Love  your  neighbor,  but  don't  pull  down  your  hedges. 

Whate'er's  begun  in  anger  ends  in  shame. 

Don't  think  to  hunt  two  hares  with  one  dog. 

Where  there's  marriage  without  love,  there  will  be  love 
without  marriage. 

He  that  is  rich  need  not  live  sparingly,  and  he  that  can 
live  sparingly  need  not  be  rich. 
'None  preaches  better  than  the  ant,  and  she  says  nothing. 

A  long  life  may  not  be  good  enough,  but  a  good  life  is 
long  enough. 

God  heals,  and  the  doctor  takes  the  fees. 

He  that  can  travel  well  afoot  keeps  a  good  horse. 

Vainglory  flowereth,  but  beareth  no  fruit. 

If  you'd  have  a  good  servant  that  you  like,  serve  yourself. 

Pride  breakfasted  with  Plenty,  dined  with  Poverty, 
supped  with  Infamy. 

To  be  proud  of  virtue  is  to  poison  yourself  with  the 
antidote. 

Buy  what  thou  hast  no  need  of,  and  ere  long  thou  shalt 
sell  thy  necessaries. 

If  you  do  what  you  should  not,  you  must  hear  what  you 
would  not. 

A  good  example  is  the  best  sermon. 
f  Search  others  for  their  virtues,  thyself  for  thy  vices. 

Sound  and  sound  doctrine  may  pass  through  a  ram's 
horn  and  a  preacher  without  straightening  the  one  or 
amending  the  other. 

Proclaim  not  all  thou  knowest,  all  thou  owest,  all  thou 
hast,  nor  all  thou  canst. 

Lend  money  to  an  enemy,  and  thou' It  gain  him;  to  a 
friend,  and  thou'lt  lose  him. 

If  you  would  keep  your  secret  from  an  enemy,  tell  it  not 
to  a  friend. 


POOR  RICHARD'S  ALMANAC.  6oi 

111  company  is  like  a  dog  who  dirts  those  most  that  he 
loves  best. 

If  man  could  have  half  his  wishes,  he  would  double  his 
troubles. 

Prosperity  discovers  vice ;  adversity,  virtue. 

An  ounce  of  wit  that  is  bought  is  worth  a  pound  that  is 
taught. 

Many  a  man  would  have  been  worse  had  his  estate  been 
better. 

A  ploughman  on  his  legs  is  higher  than  a  gentleman  on 
his  knees. 

You  may  be  too  cunning  for  one,  but  not  for  all. 

Good  sense  is  a  thing  all  need,  few  have,  and  none  think 
they  want. 

Craft  must  be  at  charge  for  clothes,  but  Truth  can  go 
naked. 

Proportion  your  charity  to  the  strength  of  your  estate, 
or  God  will  proportion  your  estate  to  the  weakness  of  your 
charity. 

He  is  not  well  bred  that  cannot  bear  ill-breeding  in  others. 

Words  may  show  a  man's  wit,  but  actions  his  meaning. 

Drink  does  not  drown  care,  but  waters  it  and  makes  it 
grow  faster. 

Different  sects,  like  different  clocks,  may  be  all  near  the 
matter,  tho'  they  don't  quite  agree. 

The  wise  man  draws  more  advantage  from  his  enemies 
than  the  fool  from  his  friends. 

v/  Doing  an  injury  puts  you  below  your  enemy ;  revenging 
bne  makes  you  but  even  with  him ;  forgiving  it  sets  you 
above  him. 

A  cipher  and  humility  make  the  other  figures  and  virtues 
of  tenfold  value. 

You  can  bear  your  own  faults,  and  why  not  a  fault  in 
your  wife  ? 

What's  a  sundial  in  the  shade? 


6o2  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

If  your  riches  are  yours,  why  don't  you  take  them  with 
you  to  the  other  world  ? 

He  that  drinks  his  cyder  alone,  let  him  catch  his  horse 
alone. 

Work  as  if  you  were  to  live  a  hundred  years;  pray  as  if 
you  were  to  die  to-morrow. 

Anger  is  never  without  a  reason,  but  seldom  with  a 
good  one. 

When  out  of  favor  none  know  thee ;  when  in,  thou  dost 
not  know  thyself. 

/     Be  civil  to  all;  serviceable  to  many;  familiar  with  few; 
friend  to  one ;  enemy  to  none. 

A  wise  man  will  desire  no  more  than  what  he  may  get 
justly,  use  soberly,  distribute  cheerfully,  and  leave  con- 
tentedly. 

An  honest  man  will  receive  neither  money  nor  praise 
that  is  not  his  due. 

He  that's  content  hath  enough ;  he  that  complains  has 
too  much. 

The  first  mistake  in  public  business  is  the  going  into  it. 

Original  Poor  Richard  Almanacks  are  now  about  as 
difficult  to  find  as  a  griffin  or  a  unicorn.  Though  the 
average  sale  of  the  Almanac  was  about  ten  thousand  copies 
annually  for  a  period  of  twenty-six  years,  I  believe  there  is 
no  longer  any  complete  collection  in  existence.  "The 
issue  for  1735,  however,  is  the  only  one  of  which  we  have 
no  trace.  Copies  for  all  the  other  years,  it  is  stated  in  the 
first  publication  of  the  Duodecimos,  may  be  found  dis- 
tributed among  public  institutions  and  private  individuals, 
as  follows:" 

Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  of  Philadelphia:  1733, 
i736>  T737,  1738,  i74i,  1744,  i747>  *748,  i749>  175°, 
i75i>  i752>  i753»  1754,  !755>  I7S^,  "7$7»  175^- 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC, 


603 


American  Antiquarian  So  iety,  of  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts :  1734,  1736,  1737. 

Lenox  Library,  of  New  York:  1736,  1737,  1738,  1740, 
!745>  1746,  1747,  1748,  i749>  175»»  J752>  r753>  i754» 
1755.  1756,  1757,  1758. 

Library  Company  of  Philadelphia:  1738,  1739  (imper- 
fect), 1740,   1742,   1746,    1747,    1748,   1749,   1750,  1751, 

1752»  !753>  1754,  i756,  1758. 

Society  of  Antiquity,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts  :  1739. 

Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.C. :  1740,  1741, 
1742,  i743>  1748,  i749>  i75°>  i752>  *753>  J754,  i755> 
*7S6,  1757,  1758. 

Public  Library  of  Boston :  1748,  1749,  1750,  1751,  1752, 

!753,  1754,  i755>  !756>  1758. 

Bishop  John  F.  Hurst,  of  Washington,  D.C:  1739, 
1744,  1748  (imperfect),  1751,  1753,  1755,  1756,  1757, 
1758  (imperfect). 

William  L.  Andrews,  Esq.,  of  New  York:    1752,  1753, 

i756- 

Marshall  C.  Lefferts,  Esq.,  of  New  York:    1748,  1752, 

x753>  1754,  1757  (imperfect). 

In  the  summer  of  1757  Franklin  was  sent  to  London  as 
agent  of  the  colonies.  This  mission  terminated  his  career  as 
a  maker  of  almanacs.  His  issue  for  that  year  is  the  one  to 
which  Poor  Richard  owes  his  world-wide  celebrity,  for  in 
it  he  gathered  all  the  wise  saws  and  modern  instances, 
verses,  aphorisms,  and  proverbs  of  the  entire  series  to- 
gether, and  formed  them  into  a  connected  discourse  as  the 
harangue  of  a  wise  old  man  to  the  people  attending  an 
auction.  This  compilation,  which  is  commonly  entitled 
"The  Way  to  Wealth,"  may  be  found  in  nearly  every 
written  language  under  the  sun,  and   is  republished,   we 


604  POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC. 

venture  to  say,  more  frequently  still  than  any  other  publi- 
cation of  the  century  in  which  it  appeared. 

It  seems  worth  noting  here  that  in  1785,  the  year  that 
Franklin  retired  from  his  mission  to  France,  an  edition 
of  "The  Way  to  Wealth"  was  published  in  Gaelic  at 
Edinburgh,  at  the  instance,  and  presumably  at  the  ex- 
pense, of  the  Earl  of  Buchan.*  It  was  subjoined  to  a 
collection  of  Gaelic  proverbs  at  the  request  of  the  Earl 
of  Buchan,  with  an  address  frOm  his  lordship  in  Gaelic, 
which,  as  it  has  hitherto  escaped  the  notice  of  Franklin's 
biographers,  I  give  in  a  translation,  for  which  I  am  in- 
debted to  Mr.  D.  MacGregor  Creerar,  of  New  York  City.f 


*  A  Collection  of  Gaelic  Proverbs  and  Familiar  Phrases,  accompanied 
with  an  English  Translation,  intended  to  facilitate  the  Study  of  the  Lan- 
guage. Illustrated  with  Notes.  To  which  is  added  the  "Way  to 
Wealth,"  by  Dr.  Franklin,  translated  into  Gaelic  by  Donald  Macintosh. 
Edinburgh,  printed  for  the  author  and  sold  by  Messrs.  Donaldson 
Creech,  Elliott  &  Sabbald,  booksellers,  Edinburgh  ;  John  Gillie,  Perth, 
James  Gillie,  Glasgow,  and  by  all  the  booksellers  in  town  and  country. 
MDCCLXXXV. 

f  Letter  of  David,  Earl  of  Buchan,  to  the  Heroic  Highlanders  of 
A  lb  an,  or  Scotland. 

"  Noble  race  of  my  native  land,  I  am  as  proud  of  your  prowess  as  of 
the  fact  that  your  blood  courses  through  my  veins ;  and  it  shall  ever  be 
my  wish  to  testify  my  high  admiration.  I  was  the  first  man  to  don  your 
manly  dress  in  the  Lowlands  after  the  prohibition  of  it  was  revoked,  and 
that  in  time  of  snow  and  storm.  When  I  can  discern  opportunities 
where  I  can  render  assistance  in  stimulating  professional,  fishing,  or  other 
employment  throughout  the  country,  it  will  be  my  pleasure  to  do  so. 
Meantime,  I  place  within  your  reach,  embodied  with  the  Proverbs,  old 
sayings  rich  in  thought,  written  by  the  wise  and  venerable  Franklin,  of 
America.  These  will  be  fruitful  to  you  in  wisdom  in  the  world's  ways  ; 
and  if  you  will  add  these  to  your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  knowledge  of 
God,  His  love  and  obedience  in  your  hearts,  in  your  daily  walk  and  con- 
versation, you  will  be  esteemed  by  all,  and  will  enjoy  peace  and  happi- 
ness within. 

"  Farewell." 


POOR   RICHARD'S  ALMANAC.  605 

I  will  premise  that  it  was  to  the  Earl  of  Buchan  that  Burns 
sent  his  famous  lines  entitled  "Bruce  to  his  Men  at  Ban- 
nockburn,"  beginning,  "Scots  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace  bled," 
and  with  it  a  note  in  which  he  speaks  of  those  verses  "as 
a  small  tribute  of  gratitude  for  the  acquaintance  with  which 
you  have  been  pleased  to  honor  me." 


APPENDIX  No.  I.     See  p.  54. 

Preface  to  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  by  Wm.  Temple  Franklin.     Edition  of  1817. 

"An  apology  for  presenting  to  the  republic  of  letters  the 
authentic  memorials  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  illustrative  of  his 
life  and  times,  written  almost  entirely  with  his  own  hands,  would 
be  at  once  superfluous  and  disrespectful.  If  any  observation 
be  at  all  requisite  in  the  shape  of  explanations,  it  must  be  in 
answer  to  the  inquiry,  why  such  interesting  documents  have 
been  so  long  withheld  from  public  view  ?  To  this  the  editor  has 
no  hesitation  in  replying,  that  were  he  conscious  of  having  neg- 
lected a  solemn  trust,  by  disobeying  a  positive  injunction ;  or 
could  he  be  convinced  that  the  world  has  sustained  any  real 
injury  by  the  delay  of  the  publication,  he  certainly  should  take 
shame  to  himself  for  not  having  sooner  committed  to  the  press 
what  at  an  earlier  period  would  have  been  much  more  to  his 
pecuniary  advantage ;  but  aware  as  he  is,  of  the  deference  due 
to  the  general  feeling  of  admiration  for  the  illustrious  dead,  he 
is  not  less  sensible  that  there  are  times  and  seasons  when  pru- 
dence imposes  the  restriction  of  silence  in  the  gratification  even 
of  the  most  laudable  curiosity.  It  was  the  lot  of  this  distinguished 
character,  above  most  men,  to  move,  in  the  prominent  parts  of 
his  active  life,  within  a  sphere  agitated  to  no  ordinary  degree  of 
heat  by  the  inflammatory  passions  of  political  fury  ;  and  he  had 
scarcely  seated  himself  in  the  shade  of  repose  from  the  turmoil 
of  public  employment,  when  another  revolution  burst  forth  with 

607 


608  APPENDIX. 

far  more  tremendous  violence,  during  the  progress  of  which  his 
name  was  adduced  by  anarchists  as  a  sanction  for  their  practices, 
and  his  authority  quoted  by  dreamy  theorists  in  support  of  their 
visionary  projects. 

"  Whether,  therefore,  the  publication  of  his  Memoirs  and  other 
papers,  amidst  such  a  scene  of  perturbation,  would  have  been 
conducive  to  the  desirable  ends  of  peace,  may  be  a  matter  of 
question ;  but,  at  all  events,  the  sober  and  inquisitive  part  of 
mankind  can  have  no  cause  to  regret  the  suspension  of  what 
might  have  suffered  from  the  perverted  talents  of  designing  par- 
tisans and  infuriated  zealots.  It  may  fairly  be  observed,  that  the 
writings  of  Dr.  Franklin  are  calculated  to  serve  a  far  more  im- 
portant purpose  than  that  of  ministering  to  the  views  of  party  and 
keeping  alive  national  divisions,  which,  however  necessitated 
by  circumstances,  ought  to  cease  with  the  occasion,  and  yield  to 
tjie  spirit  of  philanthropy.  Even  amidst  the  din  of  war  and  the 
contention  of  faction,  it  was  the  constant  aim  of  this  excellent 
man  to  promote  a  conciliatory  disposition,  and  to  correct  the 
acerbity  of  controversy.  Though  no  one  could  feel  more  sensi- 
bly for  the  wrongs  of  his  country,  or  have  more  enlarged  ideas 
on  the  subject  of  general  liberty,  his  powerful  efforts  to  redress 
the  one  and  extend  the  other,  were  always  connected  with  the 
paramount  object  of  social  improvement,  in  the  recommendation 
of  those  habits  which  tend  more  effectually  to  unite  men  together 
in  the  bonds  of  amity.  Happening,  however,  to  live  himself  in 
a  turbulent  period,  and  called  upon  to  take  a  leading  part  in  those 
scenes  which  produced  a  new  empire  in  the  Western  World, 
much  of  his  latter  Memoirs  and  correspondence  will  be  to  ex- 
hibit his  undisguised  thoughts  upon  the  public  men  and  occur- 
rences of  the  day.  These  sketches,  anecdotes,  and  reflections 
will  now  be  read  by  men  of  opposite  sentiments,  without  awaken- 
ing painful  recollections  or  rekindling  the  dying  embers  of  ani- 
mosity, while  the  historian  and  the  moralist  may  learn  from  them 
the  secret  springs  of  public  events,  and  the  folly  of  being  carried 
away  by  political  prejudice. 


APPENDIX. 


609 


"  While,  therefore,  some  contracted  minds  in  different  coun- 
tries may  be  querulously  disposed  to  censure  the  delay  that  has 
taken  place  in  the  publication  of  these  posthumous  papers,  it  is 
presumed  that  the  more  considerate  and  liberal  on  either  side  of 
the  Atlantic  will  approve  of  the  motives  which  have  operated  for 
the  procrastination,  even  though  the  period  has  so  far  exceeded 
the  nonum  annum  assigned  by  Horace,  the  oldest  and  best  of 
critics,  for  the  appearance  of  a  finished  performance. 

"  The  editor,  in  offering  this  justificatory  plea  to  the  public, 
and  taking  credit  for  having  exercised  so  much  discretion  as  to 
keep  these  relics  in  his  private  custody  till  the  return  of  halcyon 
days  and  a  brightened  horizon,  when  their  true  value  might  be 
best  appreciated,  feels  that  he  has  discharged  his  duty  in  that 
manner  which  the  venerable  writer  himself  would  have  pre- 
scribed, could  he  have  anticipated  the  disorders  which  have 
ravaged  the  most  polished  and  enlightened  states  since  his  re- 
moval from  this  scene  of  pride  and  weakness,  where  nations  as 
well  as  individuals  have  their  periods  of  infancy  and  decrepi- 
tude, of  moral  vigor  and  wild  derangement. 

"  Shortly  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Franklin,  there  were  not  want- 
ing the  usual  train  of  literary  speculators  to  exercise  their  indus- 
try in  collecting  his  avowed  productions,  together  with  those 
which  public  rumor  ascribed  to  his  pen.  These  miscellanies 
were  printed  in  various  forms,  both  in  England  and  America, 
greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  publishers  ;  nor  did  the  possessor 
of  the  originals  avail  himself  of  the  general  avidity  and  the  celeb- 
rity of  his.  ancestor,  to  deprive  those  persons  of  the  profits 
which  they  continued  to  reap  from  repeated  editions  of  papers 
that  have  cost  them  nothing.  When,  however,  they  had  reason 
to  apprehend  that  the  genuine  Memoirs  and  other  works  of 
Franklin,  as  written  and  corrected  by  himself,  would  be  brought 
forward  in  a  manner  suitable  to  their  importance  and  the  digni- 
fied rank  of  the  author  in  the  political  and  literary  world,  in- 
vidious reports  were  sent  abroad,  and  circulated  with  uncommon 
diligence  ;  asserting  that  all  the  literary  remains  of  Dr.  Franklin 
51* 


6lO  APPENDIX. 

had  been  purchased  at  an  enormous  rate  by  the  British  ministry, 
who  {mirabile  dictu)  it  seems  were  more  afraid  of  this  arsenal 
of  paper  than  of  the  power  of  France,  with  all  her  numerous  re- 
sources and  auxiliaries.  This  convenient  tale,  absurd  as  it  was, 
found  reporters  both  in  Europe  and  in  the  United  States,  who 
bruited  it  about  with  so  much  art  as  to  make  many  who  were  un- 
acquainted with  the  legatee  of  the  manuscripts,  believe  it  to  be 
true,  and  to  lament  feelingly,  that  such  inestimable  productions 
should  be  suppressed,  and  lost  for  ever,  through  the  cupidity  of 
the  person  to  whom  they  were  bequeathed.  Provoking  as  the 
story  was,  the  party  whom  it  most  affected,  and  whose  interests 
it  was  designed  to  injure,  felt  too  much  of  the  conscia  tnens  recti 
to  do  otherwise  than  treat  the  ridiculous  invention  with  con- 
tempt, from  a  persuasion  that  the  refutation  of  an  improbable 
falsehood  is  beneath  the  dignity  of  truth.  He,  therefore,  endured 
the  opprobrium  without  complaint,  and  even  suffered  it  to  be 
repeated  without  being  goaded  into  an  explanation  ;  contented 
to  wait  for  the  time  when  he  might  best  fulfill  his  duty  and  shame 
his  calumniators.  That  period  has  at  length  arrived,  and  the 
world  will  now  see  whether  an  enlightened  government  could 
be  weak  enough  to  be  frightened  by  the  posthumous  works  of  a 
philosopher  ;  or  whether  a  man  of  integrity,  bred  under  Frank- 
lin, bearing  his  name,  and  entrusted  with  his  confidence,  could 
be  bribed  into  an  act  of  treachery  to  his  memory. 

"  Of  the  present  collection  it  remains  to  be  observed,  that  the 
only  portion  which  has  hitherto  appeared  in  any  form,  is  the  first 
fasciculus  of  the  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Franklin,  extending  from  his 
birth  to  the  year  1757,  forming  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
pages  only  of  the  present  volume.  But  even  what  has  formerly 
been  printed  of  this  part,  can  scarcely  lay  claim  to  originality, 
since  the  English  edition  is  no  more  than  a  translation  from  the 
French,  which  of  itself  is  a  professed  version  of  a  transcription  ; 
so  that  the  metamorphoses  of  this  interesting  piece  of  biography 
may  be  said  to  resemble  the  fate  of  Milton's  epic  poem,  which  a 
French  Abbe  paraphrased  into  inflated  prose,  and  which  an 


APPENDIX.  6ll 

English  writer,  ignorant  of  its  origin,  turned  back  again  under 
the  double  disguise  into  its  native  tongue. 

"Admitting,  however,  that  the  small  portion  of  the  Memoir 
given  to  the  world,  is  substantially  correct  in  the  materials  of 
the  narrative,  the  present  publication  of  it  must  be  infinitely 
more  estimable  by  being  printed  literally  from  the  original  auto- 
graph. 

"  It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  Dr.  Franklin  was  not  enabled, 
by  his  numerous  avocations  and  the  infirmities  of  old  age,  to 
complete  the  narrative  of  his  life  in  his  own  inimitable  manner. 
That  he  intended  to  have  done  this  is  certain,  from  his  corre- 
spondence, as  well  as  from  the  parts  in  continuation  of  the 
Memoir  which  are  now  for  the  first  time  communicated  to  the 
world.  But  the  convulsed  state  of  things  during  the  American 
Revolution,  the  lively  concern  which  he  had  in  that  event,  and 
bis  multiplied  public  engagements,  after  contributing  to  the 
establishment  of  the  independence  of  his  country,  prevented 
him  from  indulging  his  own  inclinations,  and  complying  with 
the  earnest  desire  of  his  numerous  friends." 


APPENDIX    No.  II.     Seep.  60. 

Preface  to  "  Correspondance  Inedite,  etc.y  de  B.  Franklin? 
By  M.  Charles  Malo. 

[Translation.] 

"  In  publishing  in  France  a  complete  Correspondence  of  Dr. 
Franklin,  I  have  intended  to  afford  the  public  an  opportunity 
of  enjoying  the  only  part  of  the  works  of  this  celebrated  man 
which  has  remained  unknown  to  us  up  to  this  time.  This  Cor- 
respondence has  the  inappreciable  advantage  of  being  neither 
altered  nor  abridged.  France,  England,  America,  there  play  a 
part  so  important  that  I  should  reproach  myself  if  I  had  sup- 


612  APPENDIX. 

pressed  the  smallest  passage  of  it.  Franklin  will  be  found 
there  in  this  Correspondence  complete  and  characteristic,  with 
all  that  freedom  of  speech  so  piquant  and  so  noble  which  he 
indulged  toward  all  the  courts  of  Europe. 

"  Two  or  three  journals  have  announced  a  Select  Correspond- 
ence of  Franklin.  It  is  my  duty  to  enlighten  the  public  on  this 
fraudulent  speculation  of  M.  Temple  (Franklin).  Desirous  of 
prejudicing  the  interests  of  French  booksellers,  and  at  the  same 
time  desperate  at  having  been  so  unfortunately  anticipated  by 
the  appearance  of  a  Complete  Correspondence ;  this  gentleman 
had  no  other  resource  but  to  make  a  Selected  Correspondence  ; 
but  he  has  not  foreseen  that  in  reducing  to  one-half  the  work 
which  I  publish  to-day  in  two  octavo  volumes,  he  would  really 
give  only  an  abridgment  of  it,  an  extract;  that  his  boasted 
Selectiofi  will  be  but  an  insignificant  piece  of  claptrap,  a  thing 
of  shreds  and  patches.  When,  in  fact,  will  the  formidable 
scissors  stop  of  a  foreigner  who  is  directed  by  considerations  of 
self-love,  and  animated  by  local  passions  ?  In  purchasing  '  the 
Abridged  Correspondence'  of  M.  Temple  (Franklin),  one  will 
still  not  have  Franklin.  But  let  us  be  just.  If  M.  Temple 
(Franklin)  cuts  up  and  piteously  lacerates  a  Correspondence  as 
yet  entirely  unpublished,  and  which  was  absolutely  unknown  in 
France,  in  revenge,  and  by  an  equally  reasonable  calculation, 
he  is  about  to  reproduce  for  the  fourth  time,  that  is  to  say  to 
satiety,  the  '  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Franklin,'  printed  at  Paris, 
for  the  first  time,  in  1791  (one  volume  in  8vo.,  by  Buisson);  for 
the  second  time,  in  the  year  II.  (one  volume  in  i2tno.,  Rue 
Therese) ;  and  for  the  third  time,  in  1800  (two  volumes  in  8vo., 
by  Buisson),  from  the  English  edition  of  Dundee. 

"  I  owe  this  confidence  to  my  readers,  especially  to  that  public 
which  M.  Temple  (Franklin)  appeals  to,  that  it  may  be  duly 
instructed  as  to  the  merit  of  the  editions  of  which  this  person 
wishes  to  give  France  the  benefit. 

"  Since  the  month  of  January,  and  by  many  French  book- 
sellers, with   a  competition  much  more  formidable  than  the 


APPENDIX. 


613 


'Extracts  of  Correspondence?  which  M.  Temple  (Franklin)  an- 
nounces to-day,  and  to  satisfy  also  the  impatient  subscribers  of 
this  Complete  Correspondence,  the  literary  gentleman  charged 
with  it  has  judged  proper  to  confide  to  two  literary  men,  equally 
known  and  esteemed,  MM.  Cohen  and  Breton,  the  translation 
of  a  certain  number  of  sheets  of  the  second  volume. 

"  The  style  of  Franklin  became,  as  he  advanced  in  years,  less 
clear  and  less  vigorous ;  that  of  his  correspondents  also  was 
frequently  diffuse  and  confused.  In  imposing  upon  himself  the 
rule  never  to  depart  from  the  original  in  any  respect,  the  trans- 
lator has  necessarily  encountered  numberless  difficulties,  and 
has  seen  himself  forced  to  reproduce  thousands  of  abstract 
ideas.  By  the  aid  of  a  convenient  selection  he  might  easily  have 
been  able  to  avoid  the  one,  and  substitute  his  own  ideas  for  the 
others ;  but  the  glory  of  belittling  a  great  man,  of  abridging 
Franklin,  was  reserved  for  one  of  his  descendants.  Ought  we 
to  inherit  from  one  we  have  assassinated?" 


END  OF  VOL.  I 


*4« 


c 


Of* 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


17Nov'49HJ 


XT  28   ™«  I       - 

6   1948 

JAN  5    1963 

MAY  31  • 

AUG  1 8 1955  If     ^^ 

FN  STACKS 

80ct^GH 
recd  l.dNOV    71963 

OCT  4     1^56  RECD  LD 

NOV  2  2  '63  -12  M 

LD  21-100m-12,'46(A2012sl6)4120 


VB  37674 


